Avoid and Evade
by KleopatraAlexandria
Summary: Edward Elric wasn't sure how long he could keep on running for. That is all he seemed to be doing lately. But he had to keep running; running away from the darkness that threatened to consume him again. Set after 2003 anime but CoS didn't occur. Set in OoTP in Harry Potter World. REWRITE!
1. Chapter 1

Avoid and Evade: Chapter One

**Author's Note: Dear readers,**

**I apologize for the disappearance of this story. I just realized recently that it had suddenly disappeared from my profile so I am going to take this opportunity to go through and edit all of the chapters. Unfortunely, all of the reviews disappeared with the original chapters so if anyone reviewed the original story and would like to review again, please do so. On with the first chapter!**

**-KleopatraAlexandria**

The quiet, peaceful night was shattered by the loud scream of a young blond. The summer air was extremely humid, causing the sheets of his bed to stick to his skin, almost like an extra layer. The current blond in question was tossing and turning; his eyes working feverously behind closed lids. Those molten gold eyes shot open as the teen bolted up from the bed and ran to the en suite. The only other occupant of the room, a small red fox, looked at his companion with blurred eyes, still partially asleep. The sound of one being sick filled the air as the fox hopped down from the bad and made its way into the bathroom.

"It's the same damn dream again," the blond whispered in a frightened voice. "No matter how far or long I run, those same damn red eyes keep following me."

The fox quietly padded into the room and butted its head up against the blonde's metal left leg. Eighteen-year-old Edward Elric looked over and met the curious violet eyes. He gave the fox a weary smile.

"Don't worry," he said as he stood up from the tiled floor. "I'm not giving up that easily."

The fox gave him a look that clearly stated: _You had better not._ The young alchemist let out a quiet laugh; a complete contrast to the ear-piercing scream that had passed his lips only moments ago. Edward padded quietly out of the bathroom, taking a moment to glance at the digital clock next to his bed.

"Well, damn," he swore as he read the glowing red numbers. He sighed heavily. "I guess I have to get up anyways. I have a class to teach."

The fox looked at the clock, which read 4:45 am before hopping back up onto the bed and falling back into Sleep's sweet embrace.

Ed snorted at the creature before grabbing a clean pair of clothes and heading back to the bathroom. After getting ready for the day, Ed walked into the little kitchen that his flat contained and flipped on the coffee pot. The fox, who was constantly by the alchemist's side, scurried up Ed's leg and came to rest on his shoulders.

Ed let out another heavy sigh before taking a gulp of coffee, wincing as the scolding liquid slid down his throat. "I really need another job. I am _not_ a morning person."

THISISALINEBREAK!

The walk to the Smelting Academy passed far too quickly for Ed's liking. The Fullmetal Alchemist could not seem to keep his mind from wandering back to the dream he had. Of course, the dream was a reoccurring one; one that Ed wished would disappear forever.

Upon arriving in Surrey for the first time, Edward had lucked across a job as a chemisty teacher at Smelting. He soon gained the other teachers' respect, due to the evident knowledge he possessed. Unfortunately, that same knowledge had gotten him into plenty of trouble before. It was also that same knowledge that failed him in finding a way home; back to Ametris, back to his brother and—

Ed shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and rid his eyes of the tears that sprang to the surface. There was no point in looking back. What was done, is done. Dwelling on the past wouldn't solve anything. Besides, the people of his world were probably long gone by know, if the two worlds flowed at the same time rate. The fox on Ed's shoulder let out a yep—bark?—and brought Ed back to the present. In his musing, Ed had almost passed the school entrance. Giving the fox a scratch on the head, Ed picked up his pace and headed to his classroom.

As Ed entered the classroom, he sat his still steaming cup of coffee on his desk before placing his work bag on the ground. Due to the sheer humidity of summer, Ed had opted to wear light clothing; a white button down shirt, a tan vest, and tan trousers. The only reason the eighteen-year-old didn't wear shorter clothing was to hide the prosthetics that replaced his arm and leg. Ed grumbled about the headmaster talking him into a summer remedial chemistry class before taking out his lesson plan for that day and began to make revisions based on the student's performance so far. That didn't take long, considering Ed only had one student taking the remedial chemistry class; a student who happened to be late.

Ed could almost hear the ground shaking as fifteen-year-old Dudley Dursley ran into the classroom, a full two hours after the class was supposed to have started.

"You are late," Ed commented in a clearly pissed off voice.

"I'm sorry, Professor," Dudley replied in a tone that clearly said he was anything but sorry.

Ed narrowed his eyes slightly. "Do you realize that you have been late for two weeks in a row?" When the boy gave no answer, Ed continued. "This means that I am going to have to meet with your parents."

That got the boy's attention. "But, sir-"

Ed held up his hand and the boy fell silent. "If you had made the decision to actually keep you grades up during school rather than hang out with you so called 'gang,' you wouldn't be in this situation in the first place." Dudley gloomily looked at his feet. "Now, since I don't see the point of teaching for only a half an hour, I am going to let you leave. But" the alchemist interjected as Dudley began to smile, "I will be meeting with your parents tonight at 7 o'clock sharp. Hopefully they can sort your behavior out."

Dudley paled as Ed finished speaking. The poor boy looked as if he had swallowed a lemon. "But, sir, my cousin is at home and-"

Ed slammed his hands down on his desk, making the name plate that held his alias fall over. The golden letters of the name _Edwin Erick_ gleamed in the light of the unforgiving sun. "And what exactly does your cousin have to do with this?"

If possible, Dudley Dursley paled even more. He mumbled a pathetic apology before Ed motioned for him to leave. "And Dudley?"

The boy turned only to get pelted in the face with a piece of chalk. Ed's fox companion, who had been watching the exchange with a bored expression, fell off the desk with a weird fox-like laugh. Ed bared his gleaming whites, his golden eyes daring the teen to say something.

"Remember Dudley, the next time you are late, you won't be sitting in another remedial lesson. I will make sure you fail this class and I will be damned if I let your father try and weasel around to get you back in." Ed gave Dudley a kinder smile, one that a teacher might give to a favorite student; if only it wasn't out of place in this particular situation. "You are dismissed. I will see you at seven."

LINEBREAK!GETYOURLINEBREAKHERE!

"Why am I even doing this?" Ed mumbled as he walked down the street, labeled Privet Drive.

Due to the heat of the summer, the grass had turned a nasty yellowish-brown color with not a hint of the luscious green it had been the previous summer. Ed had long since abandoned his trademark braid and had to put his long blond hair into a high pony-tail. At least the thick hair was off his neck. Ed refused to wear his hair down, trying to block the memories that came along with it. Despite the summer heat, Ed shivered and pulled the thin jacket he was wearing tight against his body. The fox on the alchemist's shoulder looked on in concern as Ed shook his head, trying to clear his mind of those haunting eyes. He could almost feel the bastard's hands running over his body, violating his territory and privacy.

A cool wet nose broke Ed out of his torturous memories. It was only then that Ed realized he was sweating, and not from the heat. A thin layer of cold perspiration had appeared across his forehead and down his back.

"Thanks," Ed replied in a shaky voice as he scratched the four-legged creature under the chin. The fox purred at the attention it was getting. It was only then that Ed realized he had reached his destination: Number 4 Privet Drive. The golden haired alchemist walked up to the door, his previous shaky demeanor replaced with a mask of confidence and a slightly cocky attitude. His left hand rapped in the door.

Not even a moment later, a bony woman who resembled a horse opened the door. Her expression was one of fake politeness that quickly faded upon seeing Ed standing at the door.

"Oh. Has Professor Erick sent you ahead of him, boy?" the horse woman asked.

Ed snorted. "Mrs. Dursley, I presume." At the woman's nod of confirmation, Ed continued. "My name is Edwin Erick. I am Dudley's Chemisty Professor at Smelting. Might I come in?"

Mrs. Dursley, Petunia, if Ed remembered correctly from his student's file, blinked in astonishment before the fake polite look returned to her face. "I apologize," she said as she let Ed into her home. "I wasn't expecting someone so young."

Ed gave the woman a charming smile, having mastered the technique from a person who could have received an award for _Most Charming Smile_. 'Come to think of it, I think he may have,' a little voice commented in the back of his head. Ed quickly pushed the voice, and the memories, down into the black hole that he had created especially for these instances. "I am twenty-five, ma'am. I just look younger than I am."

Petunia gave a tight smile. "Of course."

Ed followed the young woman into the sitting room, where her walrus of a husband and whale of a son sat with refreshments on the coffee table in front of them. The only person—besides Ed, of course—that looked out of place was a skinny teenager with messy black hair and bright emerald green eyes. Thick black rimmed glasses covered his face and Ed could make out the faintest trace of a scar (was that a lightening bolt?—the logical part of Ed's brain commented) as the teen brushed his hair down, as if willing the locks to stay flat. It didn't appear to Ed that it was working since they sprang back up in an almost comical way.

Petunia served everyone tea, even the black haired boy, though it looked as if she was trying to hand him his cup with a ten foot pole.

_**So this is Dudley's cousin? Rather scrawny if you ask me.**_

Ed nearly snorted into his tea. 'I couldn't agree more,' Ed replied to the voice with a grin hidden be the rim of his tea cup.

"So," Vernon Dursley began, making it very apparent just how nervous he was. "Our Duddy here tells us that you are his advanced Chemistry Professor."

This time Ed really did snort into his tea. "I'm sorry. Did you just say 'advanced chemistry'?" At the parent's nod, Ed began to laugh like a coyote. Even the fox sitting on his shoulder looked extremely amused.

"Is something wrong?" Petunia asked with the same sugar-coated politeness as before.

"Like hell there is!" Ed replied between laughs. "You son couldn't solve a basic chemistry formula to work his way out of a paper bag. He sure as hell isn't in any advance class of mine."

"But," the poor woman began, looking lost. "Dudley said-"

"Look ma'am," Ed began as he regained his composure. "Your son is in my _remedial_ chemistry class. I am here today because Dudley here had been late to class for the past two weeks straight. Either he makes sure he is on time from now on, or I will personally see to it that he fails the class and, as a result, his grade level. Now I have some instructions for the two of you," Ed said with his trademark smirk. "Either you make sure your son is in class and on time _and_ begin to treat your nephew properly, or I will call Child Services and report potential abuse and neglect. Have I made myself clear?"

"Y-you can't prove that," Vernon Dursley stuttered.

Ed gave the man a murderous grin. "Try me," he challenged.

It seemed to be a universal rule, that if a person saw Ed wearing that particular grin, they stay clear of his temper and simply follow the rules he had placed down. It seemed as though that rule, that existed unwritten in his world, had crossed over into this one as well. Vernon, shaking from a fear that seemed to seep into his bones, wisely nodded.

"Good." Ed reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. He calmly walked over to the skinny teen and handed the card to him. "If you need any help at all, whether it be against them," he jerked his head in the direction of the Dursleys "or from anything else, do not be afraid to call. My mobile is the first number on there."

The black haired teen took the card and gave Ed a smile; an innocent smile that suggested that this teen had seen hell but still held strong to his values. "Thank you," he replied before holding his left hand out to Ed. "I'm Harry."

Ed grinned as he shook Harry's hand. "Edwin Erick," Ed replied, the name still tasting funny as he said the words. "Call me Ed."

**-And that is a wrap! Please Read and Review.**


	2. Chapter 2

Avoid and Evade: Chapter Two

The rest of the summer passed in relative peace for Ed. Dudley was arriving to his class at least fifteen minutes early, in order to show Ed how serious he was about the situation. Harry, after learning which classroom the teacher worked in, made it a point to visit frequently, sometimes even bring Ed homemade sweets that he had made in his spare time. The boy with the lightning shaped scar seemed to have gained a couple of pounds and didn't look nearly as scrawny. Even though the Dursleys' sudden change in attitude was welcomed, Harry made it a point to keep Ed's card in his pocket at all times; a fact that Ed noted with suspicion. It seemed as though the teen was constantly looking over his shoulder, as if watching for some sort of threat.

The one thing that was _not_ going well for Ed was the constant bombarding of nightmares and memories that plagued his dreams and daydreams. It was time like that when Ed would pick up the old Stradivarius violin and played for hours on end, trying to calm his mind as his faithful companion listened in respectful silence. His favorite tune was a soft, almost sad melody; a tune that always set his mind at ease. The learning of the violin was the only thing that he could possibly have thanked _him_ for.

Everything else that man had done only served to hurt Ed: either physically or psychologically. Even three years after Ed had escaped his prison of two years, the damn bastard still haunted his every waking moment; to the point of Ed not being able to sleep without having _every_ corner of his room lit up. The eighteen-year-old would sit up for hours on end until he simply passed out from exhaustion. His fox companion would sometime bite either his hand or fingers to bring Ed back to the land of the living only to be brushed off. Ed had not, at first, gotten along with his furry companion. The two had a very rocky past that was not easily mendable in a short amount of time. Nonetheless, after nearly a half a century of traveling together, the pair had formed a bond that could be looked upon as a brotherly relationship.

Some of the memories were pleasant enough. The pleasant memories were of when Ed had first met the charming young man that had reminded him of the person he had left back in Amestris. That may have been where Ed made his first mistake. He had let his mask slip for only a moment and the snake had decided to slither his way up underneath it.

But, back then, Ed couldn't look past the face that resembled the one he loved and unknowingly fell into a trap that was known as misplaced trust. But Ed wasn't the only one to fall for the young man's charm. Every girl at his school that was older than fifteen had fallen for the charismatic man, hard. Unfortunately, something had drawn the young man's attention to Ed. It could have been the young man's bright, gold hair that was the envy of every girl at the school. Or was it his bright, molten gold eyes that seemed to draw even the weariest of people in? It could also have been the fact that Ed carried himself in such a manner that demanded attention; wanted or not. No one ever denied that Ed was a beauty in his own right and the young alchemist had been pursued multiple time just because of his unearthly beauty and his own charismatic attitude.

Most of the memories that kept forming in Ed's dreams were of the time the demon had kept Ed locked in his home. It hadn't even been two months since the young alchemist had arrived in this new world. Again, instead of being suspicious, Ed had chosen to stay a naïve child and play it off. He saw it as a person he was learning to care for opening his home up to the young blond. And that was when things began to change.

The attention had started out as light, seemingly accidental touches: a brush on the shoulder here, a touch on the thigh there. The look-alike played it off, pretending to be embarrassed. Ed, not wanting to sound rude, ignored the events and laughed them off right alongside of the look-alike. The touched began to change from brushed to lingering and then staying where they were, usually in very inappropriate places. The dark-haired young man brushed off all of Ed's uncomfortable remarks of requests every single time the occurrences happened. Not even two months after Ed had moved in with the young man, the harassment began.

"_Get off!" Ed yelled as the man hovering above him pinned his petite frame to the mattress. Tears streamed down the blonde's face, landing on the silk sheets below. The red-eyed man simply smirked as he continued to bit down on Ed's neck, leaving a very evident mark on the smooth tan skin. Ed tried to ignore the feeling of his jacket being pushed off to grant the dark-haired man better access._

"_Stop," Ed whispered; a plea that fell on silent ears. The man simple chuckled._

"_Don't worry," he commented as though he was talking about the weather. "I'm not going any further than this, not yet anyways." Ed could still remember the lustful look those crimson red eyes held as the dark haired man above him grinned like a hyena before continuing his sexual assault on the golden-haired young man. _

That night in particular was when Ed realized that the man he had trusted was actually the devil himself in disguise. Ed could only lay there, tears continuing to course down his face as the devil ran his hand over the alchemist's body. He left Ed physically intact but, on the inside, Ed was starting to break. His strong resolve that always carried him since his mother had passed away to his next destination was beginning to crumble in a matter of hours. It would take another year of the man to break him completely. And he didn't limit himself to emotional abuse.

If Ed ever tried to escape, the man would break his leg, leaving Ed with only his fake limb. Unlike the automail he had possessed before, this world's fake limbs didn't connect to any nerves and lonely served as a support of the other limb. Ed had lost count of how many times his leg had been broken in that short period of time. Fortunately for the State Alchemist, the only physical damage of any kind he had received was from his broken leg. The last time it occurred, an infection had set up between the broken pieces of the bone. Ed spent two months lying in the giant bed, trying to recover for the onslaught of the healing process and the high fever that he had contracted from the infection.

The only good thing about the situation was that the man stopped any attempts of sleeping with the young man. He even began to act as though he cared for Ed's well-being, which made Ed call bull-shit. He would stay by Ed's side for hours, simply reading a book or trying to start a conversation. Ed, who seemed to have learned the hard way of placing his trust in someone, refused to listen to him or even reply to his comments. In the end, two weeks before Ed's escape, a fox had found its way into the seemingly airtight compound. It was in those two weeks that the red-eyed man stopped his visiting. Something was keeping him constantly busy; not that Ed minded. Ed had finally managed to escape, his body intact but his mind in ruin.

The shrill ring of his cell phone brought Ed back to the present. He glanced up at the calendar on his flat's wall and noted that the date read _September 1__st__, _the day Harry was supposed to be returning to his mysterious school for a new year. Ed quickly pulled the phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?" he greeted.

Silence greeted Ed in return from the other end of the phone. Ed could faintly make out the frantic breathing of a nervous or scared person. He repeated his greeting and his heart plummeted into his stomach at the voice of the caller.

"_Ed?"_

"Harry?!" Ed about shouted into the phone. "Is that you?"

"_Yea,"_ Harry replied in a nearly inaudible whisper. _"You said I could call you if I needed help, right?"_

"Of course," Ed replied as his stomach turned to ice. "Is it your uncle?"

Harry let out a sound that sounded like a mix between a sob and a laugh. _"No."_

Ed frowned. "Then what is it?"

Harry was silent for a moment. Ed felt a sense of dread wash through his body. _"Death Eaters."_

"Shit!" Ed cursed loudly, startling the fox that lay napping on his bed. "Where are you?"

Harry swallowed. _"The park right down from my house. Aunt Petunia told me to run as soon as she saw the black robes. She-"_ Harry chocked a sob. _"They're dead, Ed. The Death Eaters killed them."_

Ed felt a wave of pity surge through him. He quickly pushed it aside. "I need you to stay right where you are, you hear me? Do NOT move from that spot! I'm on my way."

Ed heard Harry's shaky reply before he snapped his phone shut and ran over to his nightstand. Laying among the scattered knick-knacks that Ed had collected over the years was a wand made of sycamore with the core of a phoenix feather. Ed had picked the wand up on his last venture into Diagon Alley many years before and, upon escaping from his own personal hell, had not even thought about the weapon since. But, when in Rome. . .

Ed quickly whistled at the fox and gave his wand a wave. All of his personal possessions, which didn't consist of much more than his research notes and wizarding books on alchemy, appeared in a small duffle bag. The fox jumped on Ed's shoulder as the teen quickly sprinted out of the flat, knowing that he definitely wouldn't be returning. It was time for him to keep running.

LINEBREAK!

Ed ran into the park, his leg screaming at him in pain from lack of use and overexertion. He quickly spotted Harry, whom had hide himself in a tree, trying to keep out of sight. The Fullmetal Alchemist quickly ran over to the tree and looked up.

"Harry!"

The emerald eyed teen was clearly shaken up. His clothes were disheveled while his hair was even messier. His eyes were red rimmed, confirming Ed's suspicion that the teen had been crying. Harry quickly jumped down and barreled into Ed's chest, sobs racking his body.

"Why? Why did they have to die?"

Ed held the teen close. "I don't know. But we need to get you out of here."

Harry nodded. Ed turned to run but realized one slight problem: they were surrounded by Death Eaters.

"Well, if it isn't little baby Potter," a woman stated in a voice that made it seem like she was speaking to a child. The woman stepped forward, her heavily lidded eyes showing the instability of her mind. Her grin became even wider as her eyes landed on Ed. "And you brought a muggle for us to play with. How thoughtful of you!"

The surrounding Death Eaters, about five of them, laughed as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

"I'm sorry," Ed said nonchalantly. "But isn't a muggle a person who cannot perform magic?" In contradiction to the woman's statement, Ed held up his wand of sycamore and tapped his chin with it in a thoughtful manner.

"A good-for-nothing mudblood, then," the woman spat.

Ed smirked, sending cold chills down not only Harry's spin but that of the Death Eaters as well. Within second, Ed slapped his hands together in a very familiar manner before slamming them onto the ground. When nothing happened, the Death Eaters began to laugh stupidly. That is, until the ground came up in the forms of fists and gave them a very solid kiss. In less than five second, Ed had taken out all but the crazy lady, the crazy grin never once leaving his face.

"You were saying?" Ed asked in a deadly calm voice.

The woman let out a shriek that could have rivaled that of a banshee's before sending a bright green light thundering in Ed's direction. From behind Ed, Harry let out a cry but could only watch in horror as the Killing Curse hit Ed square in the chest. The crazy woman's triumphant smirked slowly faded as she realized the mysterious blond man was still standing, an eerily reddish glow covering his body. The same red light was emitting from the small red stone hanging from a chain around Ed's neck. His smirk grew even wider.

The fox, whom had been sitting calmly on Ed's shoulder the entire time, suddenly jumped into the air. What happened next shocked Harry enough to cause him to fall backwards onto the wilted grass. Instead of the fox landing on the ground in front of Ed, a panther with greenish black fur gracefully crouched low, ready to strike. His teeth gleaned in the moonlight as his violet eyes stared coldly at the woman in front of him, calculating his next move.

"Get rid of her, Envy," Ed whispered before the Sin's roar echoed through the hot summer's night.


	3. Chapter 3

Avoid and Evade Chapter Three

**ReginaDC21: Of course I remember you. You and your sister were and still are the main inspiration for this story. When the story was deleted, I didn't loss everything. Luckily, I had a majority of the chapters backed up on a flash/jump drive. I should have all of the original chapters uploaded by next week.**

**Well, here is the next chapter of Avoid and Evade. I hope everyone enjoys it. After the chapter, please read the bottom notes for some plot clarification information. I wasn't sure if something were explained properly due to the nature of this story. But until then, please read and review.**

Ed stood there and stared at the body at his feet. The woman could have been very beautiful at one time but something stole that beauty and replaced it with a haunting bitterness. Ed sighed as he looked over at Envy, who had returned to his fox form.

"I don't think I will ever get used to that," Ed commented as he turned to look at the started young man sitting on the grass. "I'm sorry you had to see that," the alchemist commented quietly as he stared Harry in the eyes.

Harry looked as though he was about to reply but stopped when his hand suddenly shot up and grabbed at his forehead. A cry of pain passed his lips and Ed stepped forward, trying to see what hurt the teen. A burning pain struck Ed from behind. What ever spell hit him throw the golden haired young man ten feet. Unfortunately, Ed's luck was not the best. Instead of landing on the grass, his head struck a rock. Another pain shot through his body as he lifted his head weakly in Harry's direction. He knew he had a concussion due to the fact that his vision was beginning to blur.

The last thing the blond remembered was the sound of Harry's frightened voice calling out his name and a pair of shocked crimson red eyes staring into his own. An insane laugh filled the air as Ed's stomach filled with dread and the darkness consumed him.

ENVYISAFOX!

When Ed's senses finally returned, the first thing he heard was the sound of hushed voices whispering frantically.

"Are you absolutely sure, Hermione?" Ed immediately recognized Harry's voice.

"Positive. You see that fox laying next to him." The owner of the other voice must have been pointing in Envy's direction. "Back in at my muggle school, when I was seven, he put that same fox into a pot, buried it with potting mix and shouted rather loudly, 'find your roots!'." Ed heard Harry and a couple of other people burst into laughter. "And that's not even the best part! I swear the fox was glaring at him."

Ed, having heard enough of the conversation to know that he was in a safe place, opened his eyes and was greeted by a very familiar stone ceiling. He looked to his right and saw Envy staring at his with his curious and concerned violet eyes. The sin let out a small yip, alerting the other occupants of the room of his awakening.

"Ed!" Harry greeting as he scrambled over to the blonde's bed. A young girl with bushy brown hair followed the emerald eyed teen. There was something very familiar about her.

"Where are we?" Ed asked, his voice sound like he was talking with cotton in his mouth.

"Hogwarts," the bushy haired girl replied. "It's nice to see you again, Professor."

Ed paused for a moment, trying to figure out what this girl was talking about. Then it clicked. He snapped his finger. "You're Hermione Granger, right?"

The girl, Hermione, practically beamed as Ed remembered her. "See? I told you," she said to Harry as the other teen simply shrugged.

Ed gave a small smile. "What happened?"

"Well," Harry began as he fumbled with the edge of his shirt. "After that panther killed the woman Death Eater, their reinforcements showed up. One of them hit you from behind with a blasting curse and knocked you into a rock." Harry paused as he drew in a shaky breathe. "Some stranger suddenly appeared and picked you up. He told me to follow him and run as fast as I could."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "What did this stranger look like?"

Harry pause in thought for a moment. "He had long greenish-black hair that looked like a palm tree. He was wearing what I think was a skort and a tank top. He was a very weird bloke but he did get us away from there. The stranger left and your fox/panther thing showed back up. It was only then that I realized the stranger had left us at Hogwarts, which was weird because I don't think we ran that far."

"What happened to Tom?" Ed asked, pronouncing the name with enough venom to kill an elephant.

"Voldemort?" At Ed's nod, Harry continued. "He seemed rather shocked to see you, at first. He began to laugh right before you passed out."

"Shit!" Ed cursed loudly, hoping that the mad man hadn't seen him and the laugh had only been his own twisted imagination.

"What's wrong, sir?" Hermione asked.

Ed gave a heavy sigh. "I was hoping to avoid the wizarding world. Hell, I was hoping that bastard was already dead."

Harry frowned. "You know Voldemort?"

Ed snorted. "Unfortunately."

The group feel silent as Ed observed the two other teens that were with Harry and Hermione. Both of them had ginger-colored hair and similar features. It was obvious to Ed that the two were brother and sister. Harry, who had been watching Ed for any sign of discomfort, turned to look at the siblings.

"This is my best mate, Ron Weasley and his sister Ginny. You don't mind them being here, do you?"

Ed shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me."

Harry smiled. Hermione, always the one seeking answers, leaned forward. "Do you know who the stranger was that saved you and Harry?"

Ed gave another snort. "Yeah. That would be Envy," he replied as he jabbed his thumb at the sleeping fox.

All four teens turned their gaze to the fox. "Is he a shapeshifter?" Ginny asked.

Ed nodded. It was at that moment that an older woman decided to walk into the hospital wing. From the way she was dressed, Ed knew immediately that she was the nurse. In no time at all, she began to fuss over the blond alchemist before ushering the teens out

EDXROY!EDXROY!

The dark haired man in his twenties let out a long sigh as he finished wiping the last table down. The small pub that he worked at was always bustling with business and he hardly ever got a break.

"Is everything thing alright?"

The dark haired young man lifted his dark eyes to look at the young teen in front of him. The resemblance he had with his brother was too hard to ignore. Ever since Fullmetal had disappeared from their world, Roy Mustang had been working around the clock to find his subordinate. He, along with Alphonse, Winry, the Curtis's, and Riza, had managed to cross through the Gate, into this new and strange world. They began at once trying to find their missing friend. But, no matter how hard they searched, they could find no leads. The world they had arrived in was just too big. Not even a week after their arrival, the group had found a job working at a little pub called the Three Broomsticks in Homemade Village, a little town located within a mile of a school called Hogwarts.

Riza worked on the accounting while Winry, Roy, and Al worked as servers. The Curtis family acted as bodyguards and security due to their frightening demeanors.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired," Roy replied as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.

Al's smiling face faltered. "Do you think we will ever find Niisan?"

Roy paused, the glass that he was picking up from the table froze in the air. His heart began to pound at the possibility of not finding the golden haired alchemist. Unwilling to show the younger boy his own doubts, the former Colonel forced a smile onto his face.

"Of course we will find him."

Al gave the dark-haired man a small smile before nearly giving Roy a heart attack with his next question. "Were you and Niisan in a relationship?"

The blush that spread across the Flame Alchemists face was enough to answer the young boy's question. Al just laughed as the Colonel turned an interesting shade of red.

"I have to-um. . . go talk to Rosemerta about the upcoming catering event." This response only caused the young alchemist to laugh even harder.

LINEBREAK!LINEBREAK!

"_Why didn't you turn your report in sooner, Niisan?" the suit of armor asked as he followed his shorter brother through the halls of Central Headquarters. The pair had just barely survived Maes Hughes's latest round of photos with their sanity._

"_I forgot," the Fullmetal Alchemist replied with a huff. "Better late than never. Why don't you wait here, Al. I'll just be a couple of minutes."_

_If at all possible, the suit of armor looked rather miffed at the thought of being left to wait but he complied with his elder brother's wishes, nonetheless. Edward Elric, Ed for short, walked into the very familiar office and greeted everyone with a nod before walking to a pair of wooden doors. He promptly kicked them open and smirked at the glare on the Colonel's face._

"_What have I told you about knocking, Fullmetal?"_

_Ed gave a snort. "Like I would listen to you." He closed the doors quietly before making his way over to the desk and held out a manila folder that contained his latest report._

_Roy Mustang gave a nod as he grabbed the folder. He was about to pull it out of the teens hand when said teen leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to Roy's. Roy chuckled after the teen pulled away, almost laughing out right at the light blush on Ed's face._

"_Is that your apology for being late?" Roy asked with a cocky smirk._

_Ed glared in response. "No, it isn't."_

"_Then what was it?" _

_Ed simply shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Just me merely dreaming about having an actual relationship."_

_The smile on Roy's face faded slightly to an almost wistful one. "You know I want to wait until you are of legal age. Hopefully you will have found a way to return your brother's body and not need the military anymore. Then we can have an actual, open relationship instead of hiding behind closed doors."_

_Ed almost smiled at the words. He childishly held his hand out, pinky extended in Roy's direction. "Promise?"_

_Roy smiled gently before looping his own pinky around Ed's. "I promise."_

Ed opened his eyes, slightly disoriented at his surroundings. It took him a moment to realize that he was in Hogwarts; the hospital wing to be more accurate. Envy the Fox was curled up into a ball in front of Ed's stomach. For once, the young man wasn't sleeping on his back with his stomach showing. His time at Voldemort's manor had broken of that habit as well as many others.

Ed slowly sat up, thinking about the dream he had just had. He smiled as he realized he had slept through the night without having a nightmare, for the first time in almost fifty years. _At least it was a good memory_, Ed thought as he got up from the bed. A pair of clean clothes—a shirt, black jeans, and a red hoodie—were sitting on the table next to his bed. Ed quickly changed out of the pajamas Poppy—as he had learned was the nurse's name—had given him.

"Oh, good. You are awake," Poppy said as she bustled in his direction, carrying a tray of food with her. "After you eat your breakfast, the Headmaster would like to know if you would have morning tea with him."

Ed frowned. "Who is the Headmaster?" he asked, immediately thinking of Old Man Dippet, who was the Headmaster when he first arrived at Hogwarts half a century ago.

"Why, Professor Dumbledore, of course," the nurse replied with a chuckle as she sat the food onto the table where Ed's clothes had been only a moment before.

Ed grinned, remembering the barny man. If there was someone Ed could actual trust in this world, it was Albus Too-Many-Middle-Names Dumbledore.

"I would love to join Albus for morning tea. Could you let him know I will be there in half an hour?"

"Of course." The nurse quickly cast a spell before leaving Ed to his breakfast.

Ed promptly yanked the covers off of the bed, sending the fox flying to the floor. Said fox popped up from the other side of the bed as a great dane, growling at the laughing alchemist.

"You had it coming," Ed replied with a shit-eating grin.

"We will see, ochibi-chan. We will see." With those words, Envy changed back into the fox and climbed onto Ed's shoulder, watching the teen eat his breakfast in silence. Ed would occasionally give Envy a piece of bread or a bit of egg. Not that the Homunculus needed the food; Ed would have just felt weird if Envy continued to watch him eat.

Ed quickly finished his food and headed up to the Headmaster's office after asking Poppy what the password was. Seriously, who in their right mind would name a password after a candy?! But then again, Dumbledore was rarely in his right mind and that was what Ed liked about the man. He was always seemingly carefree but Ed knew better. Ed could tell when someone was hiding something behind a cheerful mask. He had done the same thing, time and time again.

After giving the gargoyle the password—Acid Pops—Ed quickly ascended the stairway and knocked on the door.

"Enter," a familiar voice replied, causing Ed to grin.

Sitting behind the dark wooden desk was a noticeably older Albus Dumbledore. His auburn hair had turned silver since the last time Ed had seen him. His beard was now long enough for Albus to tuck into his belt. The crazy twinkle in his blue eyes hadn't faded in the last fifty years and seemed to be sparkling like mad. Another thing that hadn't changed was his sense of fashion. He was still wearing the blue robes with moon and star patterns.

"Hello Edward," Dumbledore replied in a soft tone. "I must say, you are looking rather young for your age."

Ed laughed, his first real laugh in a long time. "And you are looking, well. . . old. I guess few of us are truly gifted with eternal good looks."

Dumbledore promptly laughed at the young Alchemist's joke. Hogwarts's Headmaster motioned for Ed to take a seat, which Ed did do without a moment's hesitation. "How have you been, my boy?"

Ed pulled a face. "To be honest, I haven't been doing so well." He looked Dumbledore straight in the eyes. "I'm pretty sure you know what happened shortly after Tom and I left Hogwarts?"

Albus hung his head in a defeated manner. "I wished I had pursued you to stay at Hogwarts. Then maybe none of that would have happened."

"If we go through life think about our 'what-ifs', we will never be able to move forward." Ed reached out and took ahold of Dumbledore's hand. "You have to stop living in the past. After all, you have a good set of legs to walk on."

Dumbledore smiled as his eyes began to water. He quickly cleared his throat. "May I ask how you still look like you are eighteen?"

Ed frowned but reached into his shirt and pulled out a blood red stone. "This is what is called a Philosopher's Stone. It is slightly different from the stone that your society knows of. It doesn't create an elixir of life but it does grant the holder immortality."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment. "Is that how you escaped from Riddle Manor all those years ago?"

Ed shook his head before pointing to the fox on his shoulder. "Envy helped me. He had managed to sneak into the manor while I was ill and help me escape. If it wasn't for him, I would still be trapped in there, or dead."

"Don't get all mushy on me, ochibi-chan," the fox replied, startling the old Headmaster.

Dumbledore leaned forward to get a closer look at the creature. "I take it he is from your world?"

Ed nodded. "He is actually my half-brother who died and my father tried to bring back. We used to be at each other's throats but we have reached a mutual understanding."

"And where did you acquire the Stone? Did you bring it from your world?"

Ed shook his head; a look of sadness flooded into his features. "Our old man, Hohenheim, met up with Envy and I about two weeks after we escaped. He gave me the Stone and told me to keep running, hoping I would escape Tom for good." He bite his lip as he hung his head, his eyes tightly shut as he tried to keep tears back. "He died shortly after because he gave me his Stone, the only thing that was keeping him alive."

Dumbledore fell quiet, not knowing what to say or how to comfort the teen. Ed took a few calming breaths, trying to hold his emotions in check.

"I have a proposition for you."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What would that be?"

"I know you are trying to stay under Voldemort's radar, so to speak, but since he knows you are alive and still looking the same, I would like to offer you a place of safety."

"And what can I do in exchange?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Ah, yes. Your interesting concept of Equivalent Exchange." Dumbledore thought for a moment. "Would you like to teach here at Hogwarts?"

Ed frowned. "Teach Alchemy?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I do not believe my students will grasp the concept and I fear what some might do if they do gain an understanding of the art. With that being said, I would like you to teach the students about the concept of Equivalent Exchange as well as hand-to-hand combat. I fear the student really too much on their magic and gaining something without loosing something else. You can also help our Potions Professor, since, if I remember correctly, you always have had a knack for the subject due to its relatively scientific nature."

Ed thought for a moment, weight the options in his head. Maybe, just maybe, he could find a way back to his own world. Hopefully, time moved slower in Amestris than it did in this world. Coming to a decision, Ed held his left hand out for Dumbledore to shake.

"You have got yourself a new teacher," Ed replied with a grin.

Dumbledore smiled as he grasped the hand. "Welcome back to Hogwarts, Professor Elric."

Ed pulled a face. "If I am going to be called anything, it is going to be Ed or Teacher, in respect to my own teacher."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Can I ask a question?"

Ed grinned. "You just did. But ask away."

Dumbledore laughed. "Did you ever teach anybody your form of Alchemy?"

Ed nodded. "Back about thirty or so years ago. The pair actually grasped the concept and were able to produce decent results. And I don't believe they would use it for the wrong reasons. I scared them too much."

Dumbledore chuckled again. "Well, I believe we have some lesson planning to discuss." With a wave of his wand, a tea set, equipped with sugar and cream—Ed glared at the repulsive liquid—appeared on the desk in front of the pair. Envy watched as the two began to talk before he grew bored with the subject and quickly fell asleep. The pipsqueak would be fine for a couple of hours.

**-Ed landed at Hogwarts during Voldemort's seventh year and accidently and unknowingly drew the future Dark Lord's attention to himself. Voldemort ended up forming an obsession with our favorite Alchemist. Let's face it, Voldemort is a lunatic to begin with and, when obsessed, can be even crazier. And, it this story at least, Tom Riddle and Roy Mustang bare an uncanny resemblance, much like Harry and his father do. The only thing different is their eye color. Roy didn't get shot by Archer, btw, so his doesn't have an eye patch.**

**-Since Tom looks like Roy, Ed is drawn to him because of Ed's love for Roy. Voldemort, being the ultimate baddy, uses this to his advantage. More on this will be revealed in the near future.**

**-Ed is then held captive for two years in Riddle Manor, only to escape later with the help of our favorite Homunculus, Envy.**

**-While it has been 50 years in the HP world, in the FMA world, it has only been two before Al, Roy, Riza, the Curtis's (with Wrath), and Winry travel across the Gate and into the HP world. They have been working in Hogmeade for a year, since book 4 of HP.**

**Thank you again, all of my readers and the ones who review. I am trying to make this story as interesting as possible without following the norm for all of the other FMAxHP crossovers out there. There are only so many times you can write a story about Ed teaching at Hogwarts or becoming a student before it become redundant. **

**-KleopatraAlexandria **


	4. Chapter 4

Avoid and Evade: Chapter Four

"_Teacher! Teacher!"_

_Ed looked over and smiled at the younger running his way. The young girl, who was older than Nina had been, was running in his direction while holding a fire-lily made of metal as though it was a precious jewel. Her eyes were bright, excited about showing her teacher what she had accomplished._

"_Ah, let's see what you have," Ed acknowledged as he took the delicate creation out of the little girl's hand. She was practically beaming with joy as her Teacher examined the transmutation._

"_Hmm. Not bad, not bad at all," Ed praised as the fox sitting on his shoulder examined the object with equal interest. _

_The boy whom Ed was also teaching looked a little sad that he had yet to produce a result. However, his lack of progress didn't deter him from congratulating his friend. "Great job," he smiled meekly._

_The little girl gave her friend a toothy grin. "Thanks."_

"_Now," Ed announced loudly, gaining the attention of both the children. "Time for a quiz!" Ed announced with a grin._

_Both of the children let out a groan._

"Ed!"

Ed jumped and turned to see Harry standing in his doorway, his bag slung over his shoulder, indicating that he had just gotten out of another class. "Are you alright?" the emerald eyed teen asked, his voice filled with concern.

Ed grinned. "Never better. Sorry, I was in the middle of remembering something. Old memories," Ed clarified with a wistful smile. He suddenly clapped his hands, not in the manner related to his alchemy but more so to grab Harry's attention. "What can I do for you?"

Harry smiled. "I heard from Professor Dumbledore that you were going to be one of our new professors. 'Muggle Combat and Equivalence,' I believe he said."

Ed nodded. "That and helping with Potions. I have always had an appreciation for the art."

Harry pulled a face. "I don't think Snape will like that."

Ed frowned. "Is he the Potions Professor?"

Harry nodded. "He is very particular about his class. Actually, I came to warn you about the new DADA Professor. Her name is Dolorus Umbridge and she is a terror. I only met her yesterday and already want to sick Envy on her."

Ed let out a howling laugh, which Harry was sure could be heard across the school. "I can take a challenge. I believe I will be meeting her tonight at the feast along with the other teachers and students."

"There is one more thing," Harry said so quietly, Ed almost didn't hear him. His head was bowed slightly before he looked up to meet Ed's gaze. "A lot, if not all, of the Slytherins are loyal to Voldemort. They might inform their parents of the new professor and then Voldemort will know you are here."

Ed grinned. "I can handle a bunch of students."

Even though the blond was smiling, Harry could tell Ed was rather worried about Voldemort finding his location, especially after him being on the run for so many years.

"So," Harry began awkwardly. "When is your first class?"

"Hmm," Ed hummed as he pulled a piece of paper out of his bag. "Dumbledore is giving me the day off tomorrow so my class will begin on Thursday and be held on Thursday and Saturday mornings from 7:00am to 10:00am. I am helping in Potions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12:30pm to 2:30pm. So the times I don't have class, I will have free time, which is good. I have some theories I would like to research and I would really like to make use of the library here."

Harry blinked. "Research? Are you trying to create a new potion or spell?"

Ed laughed. "No, Harry. Even though I can use magic, I like to stick to my science. As far as potions," Ed shrugged. "I don't know. I have actually been working on a theory about magic and the spells wizards use. I don't have a solid theory yet but I hope to make a break through soon."

Harry was quiet as Ed began to arrange the paper work on his desk. Harry could see that Ed had a thing for small, worn-down notebooks, since the Alchemist possessed about ten. The classroom where Ed worked was almost as big as the Great Hall, perfect for a combat class. Dumbledore had told him the classroom used to hold the school's Dueling Class but the class had been cancelled when one student severely injured another. Windows the size of elephants let in the natural light, bathing the room in a warm glow. On the wall behind Ed's desk was a staircase leading up to what Harry assumed was Ed's private quarters.

"What class do you have next?" Ed asked suddenly, starting Harry out of his musing.

Harry pulled another face. "Potions."

"Ah. So you are trying to stall?"

Harry chuckled. "I guess you could say that. Snape and I do not get along and I do not think we ever will."

Ed snorted. "I said that about me and Envy. We are now partners in crime."

The fox, upon hearing his name, pocked his head up from his spot on the desk. "I wouldn't say partners," the Homunculus stated, scaring Harry. "More like acquaintances."

"He talked!" Harry exclaimed.

"Duh," Envy countered before getting flicked on the nose by Ed. Envy promptly sneezed before glaring at his pipsqueak.

"Be nice," Ed warned. He grabbed his coat, something Harry found odd since it wasn't all that cold out. "I'll walk with you. I would like to meet the person I am going to be working with for the next school year."

Harry shrugged. "It's your funeral."

The pair set off, Envy opting to ride on Ed's shoulder rather than walking on the ground. It would simply be too easy for the fox to get lost. Harry and Ed met up with Ron and Hermione on their way down to the dungeons. Hermione began to question her former chemistry teacher on what his class would be like. Ed refused to reveal anything in regards to the subject.

"I'm telling you! You will have to wait until tomorrow, like everyone else in this damn school," Ed nearly shouted.

Hermione pouted but didn't push the matter any further. She knew when to stay clear of a pissed of Ed. She quickly stirred the conversation into safer waters. "Did you here Hogwarts is hosting a Career Event on Halloween? A lot of prominent politicians and businesses will be attending in hope of recruiting new workers from the Year Five students and up."

Ron groaned. "Why must you always know these types of things? I mean, what is the point of having such an event that no one will pay attention to?"

"For people who are actually interested in their future to find a job," Ed commented as if talking to an impatient child. The surrounding Gryffindors laughed as Ron's face turned as red as Ed's obnoxiously red hoodie.

Ed stumbled forward as a Slytherin student shoved him from in behind. He landed awkwardly on his fake leg, causing the limb to buckle and slid out from underneath him. Ed landed, his hands outstretched in front of him to break his fall. Luckily, his fake arm didn't give out. Cursing the student and the fact that this world didn't have automail, Ed turned ready to give the student a mouthful. However, the Gryffindors beat him to the punch. Soon enough, both groups were yelling and shouting profanity at each other.

"QUIET!" Ed shouted, gaining the all of the student's attention. "Who was the student that pushed me?"

A bulky boy that looked like a gorilla stepped forward, his hands on his hips in what should have been an intimidating manner. However, his looks just created the image of stupidity.

"I did. What are you going to do about it, shorty?"

"First off, fifty point from Slytherin for pushing and back talking a teacher. And. . .WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULD DROWNED IN THE WORLDS SMALLEST RAIN DROP?" Ed shouted deafening the students around him.

Harry pulled his hands away from his ears. "Wow, Ed. He didn't say that much."

"What is going on?" a pale boy asked as he walked gracefully forward to the source of the commotion. From his looks—pale blond hair, pointed nose and chin, and pressed clothing—Ed guessed that he was of the Malfoy family. The blond alchemist had met the boy's great grandfather and grandfather when he had been held captive by Tom. Ed quickly shook the memories away, not wanting the students to see him in a right state.

The Malfoy boy looked at the gorilla boy and then down to Ed. His eyes narrowed before widening to the size of tea saucers.

"Shit, Goyle," the boy curse. "What do you think you are doing?"

The boy stared dumbly as the Malfoy boy walked forward and helped Ed to his feet, much to the surprise of the surrounding students. Since when did Malfoy, a pure-blood, actually help someone.

"I'm sorry about him, sir. He can be a right idiot sometimes," the boy apologized after Ed was standing up straight.

"It is alright," Ed replied as he righted himself. "What is your name?"

"Draco Malfoy, sir. I am a Fifth Year Slytherin and a Prefect."

Ed nodded and made to walk past the boy. He stopped for a moment to quietly whispered in the boy's ear. "You can tell your Lord that, if he comes near me again, there will be hell to pay." Draco shivered at the icy tone of Ed's voice and nodded quickly.

"Are we running a circus now?" a drawling voice asked as the infamous Bat of Hogwarts came gliding down the stairs, his cloak bellowing dramatically in his wake.

"Not at all, sir," Draco insisted.

Ed turned to face the professor and nearly fell over again in shock. To say Severus was equally as shocked was an understatement. The Potions Master quickly recovered before motioning for the students to fill into the classroom. Ed followed in quietly and watched the man begin to instruct the class on how to make their next potion assignment. After he made sure all of the students were paying their potions attention, Severus walked into the back of the room, stopping to stand next to the new Professor.

"I never expected to see you here, Teacher," Severus commented in a still shock tone.

Ed grinned. "Imagine my surprise when I see one of only two of my pupils teaching at a Wizarding school. I knew you and Lily went away to a boarding school but I never imagined it would be Hogwarts."

Severus nodded. "And imagine my surprise when I walk up to a crowd of students, expecting a fight of some kind, and see someone I haven't heard from in over thirty years standing in the center." Severus looked Ed over, taking in his appearance. "You really were not kidding when you said you didn't age."

Ed grinned. "Yea, well, it isn't all it cracks up to be." His smile fell again. "I wouldn't wish this fate to befall anyone else."

Severus gave his former teacher a look of sympathy. The pair was silent for a moment before Ed asked: "So, where is Lily?"

The look of pain that crossed Severus's face was enough to tell Ed his answer. The alchemist bowed his head, blinking back tears. He had cried enough in this world to fill up the Atlantic Ocean. "How?"

"Voldemort," Severus answered quietly.

"That sick son of a bitch," Ed whispered, cursing the day he met the man. "Did it have anything to do with her knowing me?"

The Potion Professor shook his head. "He wasn't even after her. He was after her son. She and her husband, James, died trying to protect him."

"Isn't that the same 'toe-rag' that she refused to even acknowledge?"

Severus actual cracked a smile. "The very same. _He_ and Lily ended up talking after. . . Lily and I had our fight."

Ed gave a low whistle. "I remember that. She wrote me a letter, the last one I ever received, saying you had called her a mudblood."

"And I regret it every single day. Even today and every single day, I have to be reminded of my mistake."

Ed frowned. "Why is that?"

Severus nodded his head in the direction of the table where Harry and Hermione were working together. "That is her son; the one Voldemort was hell-bent on kill when he was a child."

Ed's eyebrows disappeared in his hairline. "Harry?" He paused for a moment. "I guess that explains why Tom attacked him a couple of days ago."

"I have been meaning to ask. What does the Dark Lord want with you?"

Ed turned his head that the title. "You work for him?"

Severus didn't blink. "Just between you and me, I am a double agent. I am working for Dumbledore as a spy for the Light."

Ed visibly relaxed. "You know how I told you I am not from this world? When I first arrived, I met the man that would eventually become this Dark Lord that everyone fears so much. I didn't see him for what he really was and trusted the bastard. He used that trust to keep me near him and nearly broke me."

If possibly, Snape turned even paler than usual. "How?" he whispered.

Ed bit his lip before replying, keeping his voice so low so that none of the students could hear. "He basically raped me, even though in all actuality I am still a virgin in the literal meaning of the word," Ed deadpanned. "His favorite thing to do was play mind games."

"Mind games?" Snape almost sounded too afraid to ask.

Ed gave a bitter, quiet laugh. "You know how I told you about the people I left behind? He would pretend to be Roy, trying to gain my trust. He even went as far as staging his manor to look like some of the places I had been and his minions dressed up as some of my friends."

Envy, still in fox form, butted Ed's face with his head in a comforting manner. Ed smiled as he began to scratch the fox under his chin. "He took all the information he needed to create the illusion from my mind. Right there towards the end, just before I had to be put on bed rest, he nearly succeeded in making me believe I was back home. He would have to, if one of his lackeys hadn't slipped up. Tom was pissed when he realized what happened."

Ed unconsciously reached down and began to rub his right leg, right in the center of the calf where the Bone Shattering curse had hit him so many times.

"I wasn't aware the Dark Lord was capable of caring for another."

Ed gave a laugh that was void of emotions. "He isn't. I don't think he ever will, either. I was merely a shiny new toy that he could try and break. Well, congratulations, Tom," Ed whispered softly, to the point of where Snape almost could hear him. "You finally broke me."

Severus laid a comforting hand onto Ed's shoulder. "He can only break you if you let him."

Ed's face remained emotionless. "I did let him. I don't know if I could ever face my friends again, much less Roy. I might not be able to survive it."

The older man, at least in appearance, didn't reply. Someone had decided they wanted to blow up their potion, causing the table and chair to begin to slowly melt. Snape, repeating a simple sentence of "I love my job," if only for his own sanity, quickly glided forward to see what the damage was. Ed watched him walk way, his eyes spotting the pendant hanging around his former student's neck. He smiled at the memory before turning and walking out of the classroom. He had to get his emotions in check if he was going to face an entire school of students and teachers.

**I hope this chapter clears up what the 'relationship' between Ed and Tom was. I know that this is hitting the higher end of the T rating but it will not go up from here. As I have said before, I do not write explicit material and will not begin to do so for this fanfiction. So, we can safely say that the rating of this story will not go up.**

**KleopatraAlexandra**


	5. Chapter 5

Avoid and Evade: Chapter Five

**I hope the last chapter cleared some things up in regards to the 'relationship' between Voldemort and Ed; or should I say lack of. Correct me if I am wrong, but a relationship is based on feelings from both parties, of any gender. Since Ed only saw Tom as a friend, there is no actual relationship. Am I making sense? Now, onto the subject of Ed's students. I am pretty sure that it is obvious who they are. If you are having a hard time with it, please reread Chapter Four. **

**I kind of have a general idea of where this story is going to go; which may or may not include a sequel. I am aiming for at least 10 to 15 chapters for this story. More of Ed's memories about his time in Riddle Manor and after, as well as him teaching Lily and Severus, will be revealed.**

**For all of you RoyxEd fans, rejoice! The reunion is fast approaching. On the subject of how the reunion is going to go, I am not completely sure yet. What are your thoughts? I need some feedback.**

**Thank you, everyone, who has been reading this story thus far. My sister and I really enjoy discussing plot ideas for this story. As always, please read and review!**

It had been about five weeks since Ed was introduced to the rest of the students and teachers. So naturally, he was the subject of most of the current gossip. All of the girls were fawning over the new teacher's noticeably good looks while the boys became increasingly jealous; they still could not figure out how the teacher managed to pull off having such long hair—which now reached his mid-back—without looking like a girl. The teacher had somehow managed to pull the look off.

The very first day of his 'Muggle Combat' class went down in Hogwarts's history as the most dangerous. The students did not expect the relatively quiet teacher to suddenly begin to pelt the class with rocks as they ran around the Quiddich Pitch four times. The lessons only became harder form there. Since the class was combat oriented, Ed had broken them up into different sections within the three hours he was teaching. He had specifically requested for a Saturday class since he didn't want his methods—actually, they belonged to his own Teacher—to interfere with the student's other classes. The weekday slot was reserved for the subject of Equivalence. Surprisingly enough, the students caught on rather quickly to both subject, particularly the muggle-borns and the student who hadn't grown up near magic.

None of the students were overly joyed at the idea of getting beat up by a teacher. The only ones who seemed to be enjoying the class was Ed and, surprisingly, Snape. The dark-haired man enjoyed seeing someone else besides himself and Lily having to go through Ed's so-called idea of physical training. He still had nightmares from those days.

"Equivalent Exchange," Ed began on the first day of class, "is about receiving something as long as something is given of equal value. To get something, you must give something in return. For example, if I am out buying supplies for my house, I give money in exchange for the material. The purpose of this class is to teach the student population that magic is not always the answer to all problems. Sometimes, you have to rely on other methods as a means to get something done." Ed paused for a moment. "Why are you not taking notes?" The students scrambled to pull out their parchment and quills. "Now—"

The classes were usually centered around getting the students to understand the basic form of alchemy without actually teaching them about the subject. Ed had made Dumbledore a promise; if the students picked up the concept with a quickness, Ed would in turn teaching them actual Alchemy, but only if they respected the subject and listened to his every word. Ed had only made the promise because he believed that the students would have a hard time understanding the concept. Unfortunately, it looked as though Albus Dumbledore was going to get his Alchemy subject.

LINEBREAK!

There was two other things about the new teacher that shocked the student body. Professor Elric actually got along with the notoriously anti-social Professor Snape. It even seemed as though Snape showed the man more respect than he showed Albus Dumbledore, and that was saying something. The other thing that completely baffled the students was the respect the new Muggle-centered-subject Professor was receiving from the Slytherins. Instead of shunning and belittling Ed for his subject, a majority of the Slytherins actually signed up for the class and paid as much attention to the subject as their other classes. Hell, they were even showing the teacher as much respect as they were showing Snape.

This one fact did not settle well for a particular trio of Gryffindors.

"The Slytherins are acting suspicious," one Ron Weasley commented to his friends as the group sat in the library, working on their Potions homework.

"I agree," Hermione said as she twirled her quill in her hand. "There is something else that has been bugging me as well."

"What is it, 'Mione?" Harry asked.

"It's about Teacher." She paused biting her lip. She leaned forward, whispering quietly. "I don't think he has aged in years. He still looks the exact same as when I last saw him. That was when I was seven."

Ron blinked. "Maybe he has one of those faces that doesn't seem to age."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think so. It is the same for that fox as well. When he first arrived to my school as a Chemistry teacher, he said he had that fox for over ten years. Well, it has been eight since then as foxes usually only have a lifespan of five years. That would put that fox being well over eighteen years old."

Harry leaned forward. "Do you think it could be an animagus?" he asked, knowing from experience of an 'animal' living longer than it should.

Hermione nodded, her thoughts also on Peter Pettigrew. "I think so. You remember how the stranger saved you and Teacher at the beginning of the term? Ed even said that the stranger was the fox."

"Can animagi talk in their animal forms?" Harry asked, remembering his first day of Potions class, when the fox had, in fact, spoken.

Hermione frowned. "I'm not sure."

"You know," a loud voice stated suddenly, startling the teens. "Rather than talk about someone behind their backs, you should really ask them what you are curious about. After all, curiosity killed the cat."

The teens turned and saw a grinning Edward Elric leaning up against the bookcase behind their table. At least the teens had the decency to blush.

"You have Tranfiguations next?" he asked as he motioned for the teens to follow him.

"Yes, Teacher," Hermione answered as they followed quickly, remembering the teacher's temper when students were slow.

Ed nodded. "I will send Minerva a note." He quickly ushered the students up the stairway and into his office.

Ed motioned for the teens to take a seat as he walked around and sat in his own chair.

"Now," Ed began as he laced his fingers together. "What do you want to know?"

"Are you immortal?" Hermione asked straight away, causing Ron and Harry to look at her strangely.

"I am," Ed stated. "Next question?"

"How?" Hermione whispered.

Ed sighed as he leaned back in his chair. He waved his wand, causing a tea set to be transported from the kitchen to his desk, scones and all. He could not grasp the concept of making items appear out of nowhere.

"Have some tea," he said as he gestured to the steaming liquid. Envy jumped off his shoulder and onto the desk before the Homunculus curled up and promptly closed his eyes. "I have a feeling this might take a while."

INTERLUDEMEMORY!

_If he could just find the damn pipsqueak, he might actually be able to find Hohenheim. Envy, who was currently in the form of a small red fox was quietly padding across the emerald green carpet of the strangest manor he had seen. It had been two years since he had arrived in this world. He quickly became frustrated as he couldn't find hide nor tale of his useless father. At least during his travels, he had learned one very valuable piece of information. Edward Elric had somehow managed to cross the Gate and into this world just moments after Envy had crossed._

"_Now where the hell is he?" the fox muttered to himself as he sniffed the air. He could just barely make out the brat's scent, which was very similar to Hohenheim's but with a mixture of a metallic smell, due to his metal limbs._

"_Found him," Envy grinned as he slowly padded through a cracked door._

_Laying in the center of a giant bed was definitely his half-brother. But the young boy laying there was a far cry from the cocky, confident brat he had fought against two years ago. His normally bright golden hair had dulled, looking like a pale yellow against the blood red sheets of the bed. His eyes were open but staring at nothing in particular. Even his molten gold eyes had dimmed to the color of yellow grass, just as wilted and worn. His automail was gone and replaced with cheap prosthetic frames, which looked like they would break from a simple tap. His leg—the real one—was wrapped in some sort of plaster like material, indicating to the sin that the leg was broken. Ed looked like he was in pain, his face flushed with a high fever. But he looked as if he wasn't even trying to fight it. He was just lying there, wasting away as the seconds passed by._

_Envy quickly ducked under the bed as he heard the door to the room open. Two pairs of feet appeared in Envy's line of vision, one pair shuffling nervously while the other barely seemed to touch the ground._

"_How is he?" a voice that sounded very similar to Roy Mustang's asked._

"_He is not doing well, my Lord," the nervous one answered._

_Envy heard the bed creak as someone sat on the edge of the bed. "Well, fix him."_

"_I cannot, my Lord. A human body is not something that can be fixed with the wave of a wand. The infection in his leg will take some time to heal."_

"_Can a potion not get rid of it?" Mustang's voice asked angrily._

_The other person gulped, causing Envy to roll his eyes. Humans were such stupid beings. "I am afraid not, my Lord. If the bone was simple broken, I might be able to repair it but there is only so many times a person's body can take the same amount of damage in a short amount of time. I have seen him over fifty times in the last two years for his broken leg alone. One more break and he will no longer be able to walk. It will shatter the bone completely."_

_The other man hummed. "How long before it heals?"_

"_About two weeks, my Lord."_

_The other must have nodded because the pair quietly left the room. Envy crawled out from his hiding space and jumped up onto the bed. The brat hadn't moved the entire time the pair had been talking._

"_What happened to you, ochibi-chan?" Envy asked honestly._

_Something behind Ed's eyes sparked at the nickname. His gaze shifted from the wall and landed on Envy. A look of confusion crossed his face before that confusion turned to recognition._

"_Envy?" the teen whispered hoarsely, indicating that he had either been screaming recently or he hadn't used his voice in a while._

"_No, I'm Pride. Of course it's Envy. Did you lose a few brain cells in the last two years?"_

_To Envy's horror, tears began to weld up in Ed's eyes. "Don't get all mushy on me, brat," he warned, stepping back slightly._

_Ed quickly scrubbed the tears away, the small smile on his face never disappearing. "I thought you were in this world somewhere. I'm surprised to see you here."_

_Envy snorted. "I was looking for you, brat."_

_Ed frowned. "Why?"_

"_I need your help finding Hohenheim so I can finally kill the bastard," Envy admitted begrudgingly. _

_Ed blinked in surprise as he slowly sat up, wincing as he accidently jarred his broken leg. "That's a first. Since when do you need my help?"_

"_Since I cannot find him is this large ass world. I mean seriously, why does this world have to be so big?" Envy complained, causing Ed to chuckle. "Sure, laugh it up."_

"_I'll make you a deal then," Ed said quietly, his dull yellow eyes meeting Envy's violet ones. _

"_Now why would you do that?" Envy asked._

"_You asked for my help and I need yours in return." He face suddenly became desperate. "I really need to get out of here. This place is driving me insane. I need to leave." Ed whispered as he fisted his dull blond hair, which was hanging free from its usual braid, landing on his shoulder. His eyes got a far off, haunted look, as if he was remembering all of the memories this manor held. He turned his gaze back to Envy. "Can you help me?"_

_Envy frowned before something clicked in his head. Whoever the person was that sounded like Mustang must have been the one to put Ed in this condition. And Envy simply couldn't let the person that could find Hohenheim die on him._

"_You got yourself a deal, ochibi-chan."_

LINEBREAK!

Envy woke up from his memory to hear Ed finishing up his tale. From the lack of disgust on the student's faces, it seemed as though the alchemist had left out some of the more graphic details.

"So another world exists?" the bushy haired girl asked, looking excited. "And alchemy is the main form of power?"

Ed nodded. "And, here soon, I will be teaching the 5th Years and above how to use that power, if you all manage to grasp the concept. But," he said as the three looked excitedly at each other, "do not let any of the other students know. They will find out soon enough."

"I guess your tale explains why Voldemort was so shocked about seeing you," Harry commented. "He will try even harder to capture you now, won't he?"

Ed nodded. "I have the one thing he was been looking for: immortality. Now, it is time for you to go to lunch. I will send Minerva a letter explaining the situation. That does not excuse you, however, from making up any missed work. Am I understood?"

The three nodded. "Bye Teacher," the three replied as their walked to the door.

The Granger girl stopped suddenly and looked at Envy. "Bye Envy," she said with a wave.

The sin nodded in acknowledgement as the door shut, leaving the two half-brothers alone.

**Chapter Five is done! I hope you enjoyed Envy's POV/Memory. It was interesting to write. Until next time, Read and REVIEW!**

**-KleopatraAlexandria**


	6. Chapter 6

Avoid and Evade: Chapter Six

About a week after Ed's little chat with the trio of Gryffindors, Dumbledore decided to announce the arrival of the new Alchemy class that Ed would soon be teaching. The students became extremely excited, thinking they would be turning lead or copper into gold in no time. The Weasely twins were daydreaming about the amount of products they could make with the all the gold that they would create in such a short time.

But on the first day of the actual Alchemy class, the Thursday before the first Hogsmeade Weekend, the students—and some of the staff—were in for a rude awakening. Professor Umbridge had decided to sit in on Ed's Alchemy lesson, in hopes of either learning his secret to Alchemy or persuading the young blond to become allies with the Ministry. Unfortunately for her, neither of these goals looked likely. As soon as the woman so much as stepped into Ed's class, she was immediately laughed out by the teacher, who stated, and I quote, "My classroom is not a place for self-centered toad chimeras who believe they should know everything about _other people's_ businesses. Now, get you shit and get out!"

The students, and Professor Snape, whom was watching Ed's class out of his own amusement, delighted in the fact that the short blond promptly throw the toad woman out of the classroom and slammed the door in her face.

"Now that the demon has been removed," Ed commented as he walked to the front of the class and produced two rather large stacks of paper. "In order to be considered for a position in my class, you must first pass a series of tests and exercises." Ed gave his wand a wave, sending the stacks of paper to each of the students.

"In this packet will find a series of questions and possible situations. You will have the full two hours to work on these. If you are not completed by the end of the two hours, you will not be participating in the Alchemy class. An alchemist must always be able to think on their toes and apply what they know to the situation. You may begin."

LINEBREAK!

Ed plopped down at an empty table at the Three Broomsticks. He had spent the entire day yesterday and some of last night grading the packets and determining who was worthy enough to be in his class. He had the impossible task of narrowing it down to two students from each house: one male and one female.

"Here is your drink, sir," a pretty brunette said as she sat Ed's drink down.

"Thanks," he replied as he took the steaming cup of tea before handing the waitress the money he owed.

'_I wish I hadn't decided to leave Envy at the castle,'_ Ed thought as he sipped his tea, staring out the window, silently wondering if the bottom was about to fall out of the rainclouds.

Ed quickly finished his tea and made his way out of the bustling pub. He spotted some of his students, along with Ron, Harry, and Hermione, walking around, enjoying their time in the village, despite the threatening weather. The young blond alchemist had just began to walk back towards the castle when the rain began to fall.

"Shit," Ed complained as he pulled the hood of his jacket on his head.

Ed was about to make a run for it when something caught his eye. He saw a very familiar face in the cozy little village of Hogsmeade; one that he would never see again nor that he hoped he would see.

Standing about ten feet to his left was the familiar form of what looked to be Roy Mustang. The dark-haired young man was standing there, his eyes watching the rain fall down from the heavens. The air left Ed's lungs as he could do nothing but stare. His vision began to blur. His heart felt as though it might jump out of his chest. He took a step back with his right leg. He didn't even realize his body was trembling so bad until his leg gave out, send the young alchemist to the wet ground.

Ed caught himself with his good arm. It was only after he steadied himself that Ed realized someone was watching him. He automatically looked to his left and found himself staring into cobalt blue, nearly black, eyes. For a moment, Ed couldn't breathe as he watched a look of shock and recognition pass across the handsome young man's face.

"Ed?" the Roy-look-alike whispered.

That was all it took for Ed to snap out of his trance. He did the only thing that came natural: he ran.

"ED!"

Ed completely ignored the voice yelling at him. He keep running as fast as his legs would carry him. After he had ran a fair distance, he quickly ducked into an alley and slumped to the ground. His entire body was shaking from both the cold and shock. Ed realized that tears were streaming down his face as his mind began to replay all of the hell-like memories Tom Riddle had put the teen through. Ed realized he should have been surprised to see Voldemort up to the same tricks. You really couldn't teach an old dog new tricks.

Ed yelled and lashed out with his real arm as a warm hand rapped itself around his left arm. Ed heard a grunt as the person collided with the ground.

"Stay away!" Ed yelled as he pushed himself further back against the wall, as if trying to let the brick swallow him.

"Ed, calm down," Roy's voice echoed though Ed's ears, his vision still blurred from the rain and tears. "It's just me. I need you to calm down. You are in the middle of a panic attack."

Ed didn't listen to the voice. Instead, he continued to lash out, like a scared animal trying to keep from being put into a cage. Warm hands caught his wrists, restraining his movements. A pair of warm arms wrapped around Ed, holding him in an almost loving embrace. The struggle Ed was putting up began to wane. It was only then that Ed realized someone was rubbing their hand up and down his back in a soothing manner, trying to comfort him.

"Are you alright?" the voice asked quietly.

Ed sat there in the mud, trying to slow his breathing. He didn't even response to the person's question.

"Fullmetal?"

Ed froze. Voldemort _never_ called him by that name. Hell, the Dark Lord didn't even know his Alchemist name. Ed slowly looked up, his expression still guarded as he look up at the young man who looked just like his old lover.

"Are you alright?" the young man repeated softly.

This time, Ed nodded. The man—Mustang?—let out a sigh of relief before pulling Ed to his feet. He looked around for a moment before steering Ed in the direction of a small cottage. Ed's throat tightened but he forced down the sense of dread that was building in his stomach.

"Let's get you out of those wet clothes," Roy commented as he looked down into watery gold eyes; eyes that held such an untrusting look that almost broke Roy completely. Whatever happened to the young teen was still clearly haunting him.

Roy guided Ed up the stairs and to the bathroom. He quickly turned the spray on and adjusted it to the appropriate temperature before turning to Ed.

"Towels are in that linen closet. I'll grab you something to wear until your clothes dry," Roy said as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Ed remained silent as Roy shuffled his feet before walking out the door. "I'll be downstairs if you need me. I'll leave the clothes on the table outside the door." With that, the Flame Alchemist left the bathroom that was slowly steaming up.

Ed stood there for a moment, waiting to see if the older man would return. After waiting for a few moments, the eighteen-year-old stripped his wet clothing and climbed into the warm embrace of the shower. As the warm water began to soothe the muscles in his back, Ed gently slide down the shower wall, sinking slowly to the floor. He just sat there, trying to comprehend what had happened. Inside his mind, an internal debate was racing between the rational part of his mind and the part that still wanted to hope; to hold onto some of the childish innocence that this strange world had robbed him of.

A soft knock startled Ed out of his trance. The first thing he noticed was how cool the water had become. It wasn't icy cold, but rather lukewarm; like a cup of tea that had been sitting out for a while.

"Ed?" Roy called quietly from the other side of the door. "Is everything alright in there?"

"I'm fine," Ed replied; his hoarse voice indicating that he was anything but. "Just leave me alone."

Roy clearly either didn't hear Ed's request or just pointedly ignored it because, a moment later, the door to the bathroom opened. Roy padded softly across the tile floor; each step he took was filled with caution so that he would startle Ed again. He gently turned the spray off and draped a towel across Ed's shoulders.

"You'll catch a cold if you let the water get too cold," Roy said as he sat the spare clothes on the counter. "I brought you some of Al's extra clothes. I figured they would fit better than mine would."

Ed looked up at the mention of his dear brother. "Al? He is here?"

Roy nodded, a soft smile gracing his face. "Yea. You were able to get his body back." Roy paused for a moment. "He has been looking for you nonstop for the last three years."

"Three years?" Ed asked hoarsely.

Roy blinked. "Yea. We spent two years in our world and one in this new world. How long has it been for you?"

Ed just ignored the question. "Could you leave so I can change?" he asked softly, as if he was about to fall asleep.

Roy, although clearly not pleased that Ed was avoid him and his questions, nodded and complied with the younger man's request. The door shut with a muffled click. Ed quickly dried off and wrapped the soft white towel around his dripping wet hair. He dressed quietly in the outfit offered to him: a white cotton, long-sleeved shirt with a pair of black trousers. They fit Ed well; a little too well, indicating that Al was around the same height and build as his brother now.

'_If it really is Al,'_ the rational/suspicious part of Ed's mind countered.

Ed simply shook his head, flinging the thought from his mind. He dried his hair as best he could before tossing the towel into the dirty clothes hamper. The door opened and Roy could hear the soft pattering of mix-matched feet tapping across the floor. He chuckled slightly as he turned his attention back to the coffee he was making. He just about dropped the piping hot liquid when he turned around and saw Ed standing in the doorway. He let out a soft chuckle, showing his embarrassment at the thought of being startled by the small blond.

Ed look almost the same as the last time Roy had seen the teen. There were two differences that Roy spotted right off the bat. One, Ed's hair was longer. Two, his eyes. . . they looked like that belonged to a person in their mid to late sixties rather than someone who wasn't even in their twenties. But besides those two details, Ed looked the exact same. His eyes were still a bright color, like molten gold had been pored into his eyes by some god. His golden blond hair was still as bright and look just as soft as it had been. Ed had even grown a couple of inches; not enough to make him reach Roy's height but enough to where he was just at Roy's shoulder. The young boy Roy had parted ways with in Ametris just over three years ago had turned into a beautiful young man, who almost had a feminine quality to his looks.

"What are you staring at?"

And of course, Ed would ruin the moment.

Roy chuckled before shaking his head. "You. I haven't seen you in almost three years. I was just taking in how much you have changed."

A look—Sadness? Regret?—passed behind Ed's eyes before he turned his gaze to the floor. Roy cleared his throat awkwardly before holding out a cup of coffee.

"Would you like a cup? If not, I have some tea I can brew up."

"Coffee is fine. Besides, any type of tea you make will taste like dirty water."

Roy visibly grinned at the insult, knowing that it was something about Ed that he never thought he would miss. He handed Ed one of the steaming cups before taking ahold of his own. He quietly sipped the hot beverage as he looked out the window at the sheets of rain that was falling from the sky.

"I guess the others got caught up at work," the Flame Alchemist commented as he took another sip of his coffee.

Ed stirred his, having added sugar to the liquid to give it a little bit of taste. He _hated_ straight black coffee. "Others?"

Roy nodded. "Riza, Winry, Al, and the Curtis's—Izumi, Sig, and Wrath. We all work at the Three Broomsticks."

Ed's eyebrows disappeared into his bangs. "Do you all live in this cottage?"

Roy shook his head. "Just me and Al. The Curtis family live across the village while Winry, her grandmother, and Riza live in a little flat above the Three Broomsticks." Roy paused for a moment. "I would offer to contact the people you are staying with but I do not want to send a poor owl out in this mess."

Ed pulled out his wand and gave it a small wave. A Patronus in the shape of a miniature Al's armor appeared. "Will you let Albus know that I am safe? I will be returning as soon as I can." The little armor nodded before disappearing.

Roy let out a low whistle. "Impressive. I cannot even begin to rap my mind around the concept of magic, much less perform it. I guess I should expect anything less of the Fullmetal Alchemist, now can I?"

Ed remained silent, simply stirring his coffee, occasionally taking a sip. Roy reached out and laid his hand over Ed's. Unfortunately, instead of comforting the teen like he had wanted to, Roy only succeeded in startling the teen even more. The coffee mug that he was holding shattered as it hit the floor, breaking into a million pieces. Ed visibly flinched as Roy let out a string of curses.

"I'm sorry, Ed. I reacted without thinking," he apologized as he grabbed a rag from the sink. "Don't move. I don't want you to step in the glass."

Ed watched quietly as Roy picked up the pieces of the shattered glass. Roy began to mumble to himself as he worked. Once all the pieces were picked up, Roy stacked them into a pile before making sure Ed wasn't hurt.

"You didn't cut yourself, did you?" he asked as he laid his hand gently on Ed's face.

Ed shook his head, not meeting Roy's eyes. His gaze was, instead, on the pieces of the mug he had just dropped. Roy followed his gaze and frowned. He watched as Ed walked away from him and over to the pile. Before he could even say 'wait,' a familiar clapping resounded throughout the room followed by a familiar blue alchemic light. Roy watched in awe. Ed turned back to face him, his expression guarded and judging.

"Alchemy works here?" Roy asked after a moment.

Ed nodded, still watching as Roy slipped out of the room and returned a moment later with a pair of very familiar white gloves. Roy held them up for Ed to see, somehow sensing that the teen needed some form of evidence that he really was Roy.

"Do you think these will work?" Roy asked as Ed took the gloves from him.

"They should, in theory," Ed replied as he examined the gloves, running his fingers over the familiar alchemic circle and ignition fabric. He handed them back to Roy. "Only one way to find out."

Roy accepted the gloves and motioned for Ed to follow. He handed the teen a pair of slippers before opening a door that led to what appeared to be a basement. Ed quickly put the slippers on, not wanting to walk around on a cold floor.

"When we bought this place, it came with a potions lab in the basement. Since neither of us know anything about the subject, Al and I have just left the place as it was," Roy explained as the pair descended the stairs.

As the pair reached the landing, Roy had pulled one of the gloves onto his right hand and had that hand posed out in front of him, nearly grinning at the familiar stance. Ed watched quietly as he waited for the final piece of evidence that would prove his theory. If it really was Roy, then the snap should result in an explosion of some caliber. If not—

SNAP!

Ed waited, unconsciously holding his breath. For a frightening moment, nothing happened. Then, as if some flaming creature decided to make its presence known, a small explosion destroyed the rusted cauldron that was sitting on the desk, about ten feet in front of Roy. The Flame Alchemist turned, grinning and about the say something to Ed. Only to have the smaller male rest his head on Roy's chest, tears cascading in waves down his face. Puzzled, Roy wrapped his arms around the younger Alchemist and simply let him cry. It pained Roy to see him in such a state, especially since the only time the former-Colonel had seen the young boy cry was when the little girl Nina had been killed. Roy just stood there, listening to the sound of the rain hitting the roof, two stories above their heads.

LINEBREAK(I really need to think of something else! XD)

Ed wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep. The last thing he had remembered was crying into Roy's chest; the feeling of relief overcoming him so suddenly, that he could do nothing but let the tidal wave of emotions overcome him.

"You are going to wake him," Roy whispered to someone else in the room.

Ed frowned before curling up into the warmth of the bed even more. All he wanted to do was sleep; sleep and not wake up from the dream that he was sure he was having. It was only then that he realized he was actually awake and the past couple of hours—how long had it been?—wasn't a dream. Ed whined as the sun beamed him in the face, waking him up even further. He opened his blurry eyes and looked around the room.

"NIISAN!"

The air was knocked out of Ed as another body jumped onto the bed, landing on his chest. Ed coughed as the person scrambled.

"I'm sorry, Niisan," the child-like voice commented with glee and a hint of concern. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Ed looked over and stared into a familiar pair of brown eyes. Ed blinked as he realized that he was, for the first time in over seventy years, staring into the face of his younger brother; Al's real face, not the cold suit of armor. Ed reached out and instantly pulled his brother into an embrace, causing the other to laugh and return the hug. Roy leaned up against the wall, watching with a smile on his face as the brothers were finally reunited, in flesh and blood. His gaze turned to Ed's fake arm and leg and Roy made a mental note to talk with Winry about the automail she had brought with her. But, for the moment, Roy was content with watching the two brothers laugh and cut up. Ed turned in his direction and the brightest smile lite up his face as he motioned for Roy to come over.

Al left the room, muttering an excuse of going to find Teacher or Winry. Neither of the pair heard him as Roy sat down on the bed and Ed gently pressed his lips to Roy's. The pulled back after a moment as Ed rested his head on Roy's shoulder, his left hand intertwining with Roy's.

"Thank you," Ed whispered softly.

For what, Roy wasn't sure. Was he thanking him for making sure Al was safe? Or was it for being there for Ed when he needed him the most? Either way, Roy smiled and replied with two simple words: "You're welcome."

Ed smiled as he and Roy laid back onto the bed, the pair falling into Sleep's sweet embrace, regardless of the time of day. Al nearly laughed as he walked into the room, spotting the usually proper Colonel—former or not—laying on the bed, curled up with his brother, both sleeping peacefully. Al quickly motioned for Winry to grab the camera before be snapped a picture, freezing the image in that time and place, forever.

However, hundreds of miles away, all was not as peaceful. A young man with neatly arranged black hair and blood red eyes stared at the portrait of an eternally beautiful blond, contemplating his next moves as he moved his queen across the chessboard in front of him.

"Checkmate," he whispered as an eerie grin spread across his face, his plan finally clicking into motion.

**Please Read and Review! My plot bunnies eat all of the reviews as food, so, needless to say, reviews are what keep me going.**

**KleopatraAlexandria**

**-KleopatraAlexandria**


	7. Chapter 7

Avoid and Evade: Chapter Seven

"_So what is it going to be, Edward? You can either surrender to me and you little friend can live. Or," the crimson eyed man smiled, "you can continue to fight me and I will kill him right before your eyes."_

_Ed was laying on a very familiar bed with crimson sheets. His hands were tied behind his back; his feet were also bound. The hair tie that normally held his hair in a neat braid or pony tail lay snapped in half, his blond locks falling over his back and shoulders. His golden eyes looked from the crimson red ones to the figure that was being held into place by two Death Eaters. Ed nearly let out a sob at the sorry state that Roy was in. His black hair was messy and unkempt. His clothes were torn and bloodied from numerous torture sessions. The only thing that the Death Eaters didn't do was damage his face. Voldemort made it more than clear that he wanted Ed to still be able to recognize the young man for whom Ed loved._

"_Don't," Roy whispered, only to be kicked from behind by a laughing Death Eater. _

_Voldemort raised his hand, signally for the Death Eater to stop. Ed couldn't stop the tears that cascaded down his face, his eyes never leaving Roy's form. He slowly turned back to face Voldemort._

"_Let him go. I'll do whatever you want. But you had better keep your promise," Ed replied, ignore Roy's protests in the background. _

_Voldemort laughed and Ed tried to ignore the pain in his heart as he watched the Death Eaters drag a protesting Roy out of the room. With a wave of his wand, Voldemort release Ed from his bindings and took ahold of Ed's left hand._

"_Lord Voldemort __**always**__ keeps his word," Tom replied as he pressed his lips to Ed's hand. The pain in Ed's chest subsided as a sharp, piercing pain coursed through his left hand. Ed cursed—_

-and pulled his hand away from the pair of sharp teeth that were biting down on his hand.

"Shit," Ed cursed, not liking how he was woken up, even if it was from a nightmare.

"Where the _hell_ did the fox come from?" a female voice asked from the doorway.

Ed looked up from his bleeding hand to see Winry Rockbell standing in the doorway, her long blond hair cascading in waves down her back. Her bright blue eyes were staring at the red fox while her hands were closed around the handles of a familiar suitcase. Al walked in after Winry and repeated the blond girl's statement, minus the curse word.

"Umm," Ed muttered as he looked down at Envy, who stared right back at him. Ed let out a hiss as he looked at the bleeding wound on his hand. "You didn't have to bite me _that_ hard, you know."

The fox shrugged in response. Al ran over to his brother, having retrieved some bandages from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

"I hope that thing doesn't have rabies," Al complained. "We don't have any antiseptics laying around."

"He might be a little crazy but he doesn't have any rabies," Ed replied.

"Why did he bite you?" Winry asked as she sat the suitcase on the bed and seated herself in a chair.

"I was having a nightmare. He normally bites me to wake me up," Ed said calmly.

Winry frowned but didn't push the matter. Instead she turned her attention to the suitcase. "I kind of calculated how much you might grow. I hope this fits," she said as she opened the case.

Ed blink as she opened the case and revealed the shining automail inside. It look almost identical to the last pair but the arm and leg were indeed a little longer.

Ed smiled. "Thank you, Winry."

The blond mechanic grinned. "Don't thank me yet. Let's make sure it fits. Now, lay down on the bed and take the shirt off. We need to attach it to make sure it is the right length."

After removing his shirt, Ed rolled the leg of his left pants leg up to just above the knee. Pinako joined her granddaughter and the pair began to set up the equipment. Ed was calmly laying on the bed, the familiar red fox stretched out across his stomach. Ed smiled at the animal before closing his eyes, mentally preparing himself for the pain that came along with the nerves connecting with the automail. He faintly heard Winry count down before his right shoulder and left knee seemed to ignite with a flaring pain. He bit his lip, not once making a sound. He felt a warm hand hold onto his left hand, a thumb rubbing comforting circles on the top of the bandage.

"Does that always happen?" Roy asked quietly.

Winry must have nodded. "The nerves have to connect with the automail. It tends to be painful but not as much as the actual automail surgery.

"And that hurts," Ed commented quietly, trying to catch his breathe.

Winry gave her childhood friend an apologetic look. "I also added a new feature to the automail." Winry reached over and pressed a button on the arm of Ed's automail. As the button disappeared into the automail, a small handheld popped out, landing in Winry's hand. "There is an identical one in your leg, located behind the leg. I installed them just encase you don't have access to Alchemy." Winry paused for a moment. "You much be tired."

""I'll be fine," Ed replied as he sat up from the bed. He quickly rotated his right shoulder before moving the foot of the automail leg. A grin suddenly spread across his face. "You would not believe how much of a pain it is to use those flimsy prosthetics."

"At least you only had to wear them for about three years," Winry commented lightly as she put her tools away.

The smile fell from Ed's face faster than water could fall from the sky on a stormy day. Upon seeing his expression, the other occupants of the room frowned.

"Did I say something wrong?" Winry asked, her voice full of concern.

"It hasn't been three years," Ed said quietly, not wanting to continue.

"The two worlds move in different time spans?" Al asked, his interest peeked.

Ed slowly nodded, feeling like he was about to be sick.

"Who long has it been for you? It has to have been at least two years since you look to be about eighteen," Winry said as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

Ed remained quiet, afraid that, if he opened his mouth, he would just stop at how long it had been. He would end up telling them everything that had happened in this world. He didn't want them to know; he didn't want them to realize that the strong person they all knew and loved had been completely shattered and that person was _still_ trying to pick up the pieces. Most of all, he didn't want Roy to see him as a used toy; damaged goods.

"It has been longer, hasn't it."

Ed looked up to see the familiar for of Izumi Curtis leaning against the doorway. Behind her was her extremely tall husband Sig and, who Ed noticed with surprise, Wrath. The other homunculus was staring at the fox with such loathing that Ed knew Wrath could identify exactly who the fox was. Said fox was making it a point of ignoring the younger sin and was instead staring up at Ed, his expression clearly stating that he would have to tell his friends sooner rather than later.

"How can you tell?" Ed asked, his voice breaking in different places.

"Your eyes," Teacher stated, her own expression soft. "They are not the eyes of the old, carefree Ed that we saw last time. Something made you grow up faster than before, something that occurred in the worst possible way."

Ed laughed bitterly. He reached over and took the small poach that was hanging around Envy's neck. With a wave of his wand, Ed returned the bag to its size. Laying on his knees was a duffel bag; the same one that contained all of his research and notes. He dug around in the bag before pulling out a manila folder. He reached in and took out an old newspaper clipping before handing it to his teacher.

"'Hogwarts Welcomes a New and Mysterious Transfer Student,'" Izumi read. She stared at the photo as the younger looking Ed in the photo turned to face the camera's that were taking his picture. He looked a little surprised and startled before walking out of the frame. Izumi glanced at the date before her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. " 'December 2nd, 1944'."

Izumi quickly grabbed a newspaper and read the current date aloud. "'October 3rd, 1995'."

The entire group turned their eyes to Ed, who wouldn't meet their gaze.

"Fifty years?" Winry asked, her voice raising to a squeak at the end. "You have been in this world for fifty years?"

Ed remained silent, not trusting his own voice.

"Do the people of this world live a long time?" Pinako asked, taking in Ed's youthful appearance.

"No," Ed replies as he played with the stone hanging around his neck.

"Is that a Philosopher's Stone?" Al asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Ed nodded. "Our old man gave it to me, about forty-eight years ago."

"Dad's in this world?" Al asked his eyes shining slightly at the thought of having most of his family back together.

"Not anymore," Ed whispered. He looked up to meet his brother's eyes. "He gave me _his_ stone, Al." Ed looked at his hands suddenly. "The one that kept him alive."

Al sank back into his chair, not exactly sure how to react. "Why did he do that?"

Ed refused to respond. He simply sat there, stroking the fox's head, trying his best to pretend Al hadn't asked _that_ question. Envy immediately noticed that Ed didn't want to tell them what happened. It wasn't a matter of how long it took to tell them but a matter of telling them _at all._

"Ed?" Izumi asked as she placed her hand on Ed's shoulder. "What happened to make Hohenheim give you his stone? It had to have been something of great importance."

"Can you please not ask me that?" Ed asked in a broken tone, his eyes still glued to his hands. "You can ask me anything just not _that_."

The other occupants of the room locked eyes before they all came to a sudden decision.

"Alright, Ed," Roy said as he took ahold of Ed's hand. "We won't ask."

Ed visibly relaxed, like someone had lifted a giant, ten-ton boulder off of his shoulder. "Thank you," he whispered quietly.

"Is there something else about this world that we need to know about?" Riza asked, trying to steer the conversation into safer waters.

Ed nodded. "Doppelgangers." Upon seeing the groups frowning faces, Ed sighed. "The word _doppelganger_ is a German word, roughly translating to _double walker _or _double goer_. It is literally a person whom looks like someone else, the exact face and features."

"So we have doppelgangers here, in this world?" Al asked.

Ed nodded. "A little after I got to this world, I actually met your double, Al. His name was Alfonse Heidricks and he lived in Germany." Ed looked over at Roy. "I even met your double."

Roy's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "You did?"

Ed nodded. "I thought I should warn you. Our doubles are essentially ourselves, just living their lives in _this_ world. The main reason I thought to warn you is _because _of your double." Ed paused. "In this world, his name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He is a wizard who attended Hogwarts when I first arrived in this world."

"So, people will think we are related? He is in his, what, seventies at most?" Roy asked, clearly confused.

Ed shook his head. "He has been obsessed with escaping death. He has found some way to keep himself from aging." Ed stopped again. "He is currently at the center of a war with the rest of the Wizarding world. He is known as Lord Voldemort."

The others in the group couldn't keep their mouths from hitting the floor. They had heard of the notorious Dark Lord that was the cause of much pain and suffering for the wizarding world.

"Did you know him personally? I mean, since you attended Hogwarts while he was there?" Wrath asked, his eyes leaving Envy's form for the first time since he had spotted the other sin.

Ed gave a short, brisk nod. He wanted nothing more than to escape from the current subject. The other occupants of the room, however, were rather curious about the supposed Dark Lord. They all began to fire questions at the exact same moment. Ed leaned back into the pillows, trying to completely ignore the questioned that were being fired at him. The only ones that were not asking questions was the fox on Ed's shoulder and the dark-haired young man who was processing the information.

"Will you lot shut the hell up?" Envy suddenly yelled, his voice startling the group. "Can't you see he doesn't want to answer any question?"

The occupants looked from the talking fox to Ed, who had his eyes clamped shut and his hands over his eyes, trying to block out the on slot of questions. They all immediately shut their mouths and gave the short blond sympathetic and apologetic looks. Roy reached over and pried Ed's hands away from his ears. Ed blinked, his eyes watering with unshed tears.

"Calm down, alright? We'll stop asking you questions." Roy turned his attention to Envy. "I do have a couple of questions for _you_, however."

"And I will answer them as best I can without getting into ochibi-chan's privacy. Deal?" The question wasn't only directed at Roy, but at everyone.

"First question, what the _hell_ are you doing here, Envy?" Wrath shouted suddenly.

"Watching the pipsqueak," Envy replied. "We ran into each other about forty-eight years ago, just before we ran into Hohenheim. We have been traveling together ever since."

Winry frowned. "But why? Why didn't you part ways? I thought you hated each other."

Envy looked over at Ed. "I have my reasons and those reason cannot be explain that this moment. That subject is for ochibi-chan to tell; only when he is ready."

"But why have you stayed for so long?" Wrath asked. "You usually keep to yourself and ignore everyone else around you."

"Again, not my story to tell. Part of the reason is because we are brothers."

Winry blinked. "Brothers?"

Ed nodded in response. "We share the same father. Hohenheim has been living for a long time. Envy, who was then known as William, was his first son with that witch Dante. William died unexpectedly and Hohenheim tried to bring him back with alchemy. He ended up creating a Homunculus from that failed Human Transmutation."

"So now you know," Envy whispered as the group fell into an uncomfortable silence.

鋼の錬金術師

"I should probably head back to the castle. The students and staff will probably be wondering where I am," Ed commented as the group sat down for lunch on Sunday. He had somehow managed to sleep the whole night beside Roy and didn't even realize how much time had passed.

"I'll walk you up there. Rosemerta had said she needed to set up for the Career Event. They moved it up from Halloween to the 12th of this month," Roy offered as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

Ed smiled. "I'd like that. It's probably a good thing I warned you about Riddle, though. I'll have to keep my students from freaking out."

"You're a teacher?" Izumi asked as she elegantly cut her steak with a knife.

Ed nodded, a mischievous look in his eyes. "I learned from the best, after all."

The air in the dining room erupted in laughter as Izumi grinned like a coyote. "That you did. That you did."

Less than half and hour later, Ed and Roy were walking up the pathway to the school, their hands interlocked and swinging slightly between them.

"I guess I can finally keep my promise," Roy commented as he pecked Ed on the cheek.

Ed gave Roy a smile as he rested his head on the dark-haired man's shoulder. "I guess you can."

They were quiet for most of the trip up to Hogwarts, neither of them wanting to break the comfortable peace that had settled between them.

"Can I ask you something?" Roy asked quietly.

Ed looked over at Roy, a completely honest look in his eyes. "Of course."

"What did he do to you?" Roy asked, hoping Ed wouldn't shut down.

Ed stopped walking, turning his complete attention to Roy. His expression was completely guarded, the complete opposite of what it had been only moments before. "How do you know he did something?" Ed asked, knowing exactly whom Roy was speaking about.

Roy looked Ed straight in the eyes. "Because of the way you react to his name. Your eyes shift slightly whenever someone mentions him, whether it be his actual name or just mentioning him in general. You're not normally a shifty person. Another clue was the way you reacted when you first saw me. Instead of immediately recognizing me a Roy, you saw me a potential threat and reacted thus so. Whatever he did to you hurt you bad." Roy reached over and lifted Ed's chin, forcing the young man to look him in the eyes. "What did he do?"

Ed blinked as tears ran down his face. He stared into cobalt blue eyes before turning and looking to the ground. "Please. . . you promised not to ask."

Roy sighed quietly, silently cursing the promise he made. "Ok, I won't ask. But, when you are ready, will you please tell me?"

Ed nodded before resting his head on Roy's chest, just under his chin. "I will. I just need time."

Roy pulled the young alchemist close and rested his chin atop of Ed's head. "And I am willing to wait. Now," he looked down at Ed before gently brushing the tears off his face. "We need to figure out some way to let you know it is me and not that bastard, considering how much we look alike."

Ed chuckled before nodding in agreement. "But what can we do? It's not like you can all me by my title all the time. He is bound to find it out eventually."

Roy frowned and stood there for a moment, lost in thought. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his silver pocket watch. He reached into his other pocket and handed Ed another pocket watch, one with a familiar writing on the inside of the facing.

"As a signal, how about we flash the pocket watch twice. Just a brief flick of the wrist and return the watches to our pockets?" Roy suggested with a smile.

Ed grinned as he threw his arms around Roy's neck and kissed the man before him. "That is a brilliant idea."

Roy chuckles as he returned the kiss, neither of the pair aware of the eyes that were watching them. The rat that had been following the pair, staying a safe distance of twenty feet from the pair, quickly scurried into the forest, trying to steer clear of the fox that was nowhere in sight. Unfortunately, Peter Pettigrew didn't make it very far before his tail was snatched up and he was staring into the grinning face of a very human Envy.

"Looks like I found a rat," Envy sang with a crazy grin. "Now what to do with you?" An even bigger grin spread across the sin's face. "Oh, I know just the thing."

Envy quickly changed into a fox, the rat completely paralyzed in his mouth. The red fox leisurely walked out of the forest, trusting that the Flame Alchemist would take care of his ochibi-chan for a few hours.

**Chapter Seven! Wow. It looks like the chapters are staying relatively the same size. Rather unusual for my standings. Just a little fun fact, but whenever I imagine this story in my head, I automatically think of the doujinshi drawing from called **_**Sicks**_**, which is a doujinshi about Ed and Roy. This story line goes that Ed catches a really bad cold and ends up passing out in a phone booth only to have Roy find his and freak out. The doujinshi is very cute but a little short. I am not sure who the author is but the credit goes to them. You can find the video on youtube and I will try to post the link on my profile, if FF will let me. But I absolutely LOVE the artwork. Just a little fun fact. If you picture it differently, that is fine with me. It's your imagination.**

**I am glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter. I hope the fluff in this one turned out well. Now, what do you think will happen to Peter? And what about the pendants? That will probably be in the next chapter. This story will probably end up being close to fifteen chapter rather than ten. And there will be a sequel!**

**Thank you to everyone who review! To Always and Forevermore: thank you for reading! Anubis the Muse: I'm glad you like the fluff! As always, ReginaDC21 and BulletWitch1985, thank you again. I loved your reviews. Guest, hope you like the evil twin reveal. The other Guest (the first Guest to review in Chapter Six), I am glad to see I have you thinking! Keep it up! As always, Read and Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Avoid and Evade: Chapter Eight

Ed sighed as he looked around the Great Hall. Today was the day when he announced the names of the Fifth Year students that would be attending his Alchemy class. Envy had disappeared sometime yesterday and had yet to return. This didn't necessarily worry Ed but he was still a little apprehensive as to what happened to his companion.

As usual, the owls carrying the morning mail swooped in, flying to their owners. Ed chuckled slightly as the Weasely family owl landed with a thud at the Gryffindor table, directly in front of Ron. Ed heard a couple of people laugh before going back to their breakfast. Dumbledore stood up, signaling Ed that he was about to speak to the entire student population.

"Good morning, students," Dumbledore began in a cheerful voice. "As I know all of you are wondering, today is the day you have all been waiting for: the names of the students who will be getting into the new Alchemy class with Professor Elric. Would you like to say something before giving out the names?"

Ed nodded as he stood up. "These students have been selected by myself personally. In order to be considered for a slot in my class, these students showed an understanding of the Law of Equivalent Exchange, the basic rule of Alchemy. They also showed an understanding of what common object are made up of; another key concept in Alchemy. In order to perform Alchemy, a person has to be able to deconstruct the object in their mind, be able to reconstruct that object to the shape and form they choose, as well as comprehending the molecular structure of that object. It is only with these ideas in mind that an Alchemist can be successful and prevent a rebound.

"Now, on to the names of the students. I originally had plans for eight students total; two from each house. However, upon the completion of the tests I gave out on Thursday, I realized that I was merely wishfully thinking. Out of the nearly one hundred fifth year students, only four were able to complete the packet and answer the questions in the manner I thought was appropriate. For the first student, I pretty sure it comes by no surprise since she is considered to be the brightest witch of this generation. Ms. Hermione Granger, please step forward."

Hermione looked shocked and pleased at the same time. She quickly stood up and hurried forward to stand at the bottom of the steps that led up to the teacher's table.

Ed smiled. "The next student can be considered a little strange but that doesn't stop her from understanding the basics of Alchemy. Ms. Luna Lovegood, please step forward."

The entire Ravenclaw table applauded as the girl with light blond hair and a far off look in her eyes walk up to stand next to Hermione. The two girls grinned at each other before turning their attention back to the front.

"The next student may come as a surprise to the student population. However, since he possesses an acute understanding of the art of Potions, Mr. Draco Malfoy will be joining this class."

The students looked stunned for a moment before the Slytherin table broke out in cheers. The heir to the Malfoy family looked surprised for a moment before he walked up and joined the two girls standing before him.

Ed waited for the applause to die down before he continued. "The last student joining this group was someone I thought would make a similar mistake to my own. If the Fifth Years remember correctly, one of the questions were as follows: 'In Alchemy, there is an act known as Human Transmutation. This act can be used to try and bringing the dead back to life. If you possessed this type of power, what would you do with it if someone you loved has passed away?'" Ed paused for a moment, taking in the faces of the students. "A lot—the vast majority—of the students answered that they would try to bring that person back. I was deeply disappointed to see this occur. However, one student's answer stuck out to me. This student didn't just simply put that they would not try to commit the act, they explained their actions and reasons. 'Even if I had the power to bring someone back to life, the dead must remain where they are. Not amount of grief could overcome their loss but time will heal the hurt and our friends will help us get past those times. I lost my parents when I was no more than a year old but they were the ones who made the choice to protect me; to give their lives so that I might live, and, by trying to bring them back, I will be making their sacrifice useless. If we could bring the dead back to life, we would not be able to learn from our own mistakes and keep repeating the same events over and over again. Death is not something to be scared of. It is the next great adventure.'" Ed looked around the faces of the students before his eyes locked with a pair of very familiar emerald green eyes. "This is the reason that I have chosen Mr. Harry Potter to join the Alchemy class."

The Gryffindor table cheered the loudest as Harry smiled and made his way to join the other three students.

Ed laughed as Hermione tackled her friend. "If some of you are wondering what I am referring to when I said I thought Harry would make the same mistake as I did, here is a little warning. The dead cannot be brought back to life, not matter what price a person pays. My brother and I, when we were younger, lost our mother to an illness. We tried to use Human Transmutation to bring her back to life. In doing so, my brother lost his body and I lost my arm and leg." To prove his point, Ed reached over and yanked the sleeve of his shirt up, revealing the metal arm that replaced his flesh one. "Human lives are not something to be messed with. I hope you all take that to heart as this war fast approaches."

Ed's eye twitched as the toad woman laughed. "What war, Mr. Elric?" Umbridge asked sweetly.

"The war that is starting right under your ugly little nose," Ed countered. "Voldemort will not sit back and wait for you to make the first move. If you don't believe me, why are there muggles disappearing left and right?"

Umbridge was smart enough to stay silent. She never wanted to get on Ed's bad side, especially after he threatened to turn her into an actual toad and feed her to one of Hagrid's beloved pets.

LINEBREAK!

Hermione, Luna, and Harry were all sitting in the library, trying to figure out their first task for their Alchemy class. Right after breakfast, Ed pulled the four students off to the side and gave them their first assignment: figure out the meaning of "All is One, One is All." They had three weeks to figure out the answer. They couldn't ask Ed or Professor Snape for help. Being unable to ask Snape for help really stumped the four. What did Snape have to do with all of this? They were, however, allowed to work on the question together.

"It doesn't make any sense," Hermione complained as she looked through the book sitting in front of her for the fifth time.

"I don't think you will find the answer in a book Hermione," Harry commented quietly. "I think it is something linked to his crazy ways of teaching."

"Um, excuse me?"

The trio turned to see Draco Malfoy standing before them, holding a couple of books. He looked slightly lost. "Can I join you?"

The three students stared at the blond for a moment. Said blond suddenly began to fidget. "I'll go somewhere else then," he muttered, feeling self-conscious at the attention.

"Wait. . . Draco," Hermione called as the Malfoy heir turned to leave.

Draco blinked in confusion as he turned his attention back to the group. "Yes?"

"_We_," Hermione began, "would love for you to join us. After all, we are all in the same class together. Right guys?"

Draco's eyes widened in surprise as Harry and Luna both nodded in agreement. The blond Slytherin smiled as he placed the books he was carrying onto the table. "Thanks, Hermione."

Hermione beamed. "You're welcome, Draco. Now—"

Ed smiled from his place in the shadows, directly behind the table the trio was sitting at. He had originally thought that he would have to push the four to cooperate. It seemed like they would have no trouble getting along. Now the only person he had to worry about was a certain red-head.

Ed nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt something climb up onto his shoulder. He glared at Envy half-heartedly. The sin simply stared back, a newspaper and letter dangling from his mouth.

"What do you have?" Ed whispered as he took the objects from the Homunculus.

Ed's eyes quickly scanned the letter and then the newspaper before a grin stretched across his face. He walked out of the shadows, startling his students in the process.

"Teacher!" Hermione shouted, earning a hiss and glare from the librarian.

"Hello, Hermione," Ed greeted casually. "Might I join you?"

"Of course," Draco replied. "Actually, can I talk to you about something, Teacher?"

Ed blinked before nodding and quickly throwing up a silencing charm. "What do you wish to talk about?" Ed looked around at his other three students. "Do you mind if they hear?"

"I don't mind. It is probably best if Harry hears about this anyways, since it has to do with Voldemort," Draco replied.

Ed's expression darkened at the mention of the bastard. He quickly calmed himself before he accidently made something explode. "Alright. Let's hear it."

Draco looked around nervously for a moment. "According to my father, Voldemort is trying to find some way to get a hold of you," Draco confessed as he looked Ed straight in the eyes. "I don't know what he is planning or when he will go through with the plan but I just thought you should know, so you can be on guard."

Ed thought the information over for a moment. Envy, however, was more verbal in his thought process. "And how can we trust you? How do we know that you are not just working with Voldemort as one of his Death Munchers?"

Draco's lip twitched at the nickname before he pulled up his left sleeve, revealing unblemished skin. "As soon as a Death Eater is initiated, they get branded immediately. Even though my father wants me to follow in his foot-steps, my mother wants me to follow my own dreams. You can even ask Sev to vouch for me."

"Professor Snape?" Luna asked dreamily.

Draco nodded. "Severus is my godfather."

Ed nodded. "He mentioned the matter to me once or twice." Ed suddenly slapped his leg. "Alright, I believe you whether Envy does or not." He looked at Envy. "Do you trust my judgment?"

The sin gave Ed a strange look. "When have I? I trust you if that is what you are asking."

Ed grinned. "Good. Now that that matter is settled." Ed throw the newspaper onto the table, letting the three students see the front page for tomorrow's newspaper.

"'Sirius Black Freed of All Charges,'" Hermione read, her eyes widening as she took in the information.

Envy grinned from his place on Ed's shoulder. "I love to catch little rats."

Ed cracked up. "Envy here found a certain rat animagus and turned him into the Ministry, with the help of Dumbledore of course." He looked at Harry. "You godfather has been cleared of all charges and is even being compensated for his time in Azkaban."

Harry couldn't keep the grin from spreading across his face. He looked at Envy, his eyes watering slightly. "Thank you."

"Don't you get mushy on me too, four-eyes," Envy replied, his ears flattening on his head.

Ed snickered. He turned back to his students. "There is someone I want you all to meet. I have gotten permission from Dumbledore to take you four to Hogsmeade for a 'special' trip."

The four shared a look before shrugging. "We just need to drop out stuff off at our dorms," Hermione answered.

Ed waved her off. "We can just drop them off by my office. No one will be able to get in."

EDxROY!ROYxED!

Harry could almost feel the glee coming off of their Alchemy teacher as the group walked down to Hogsmeade Village. Ed looked like a little kid who couldn't wait to open his Christmas gifts. The four students laughed as Ed skipped, occasionally swinging Envy by his arms as if the two were dancing.

"Why is he so hyper?" Draco whispered to Hermione, causing the girl to laugh.

"I'm not sure. I don't think I have ever seen him this excited before," Hermione replied with a grin.

The four students nearly ran into their teacher when he suddenly stopped. Harry was about to ask him what was wrong when he noticed the goofy grin plastered on Ed's face. Harry followed Ed's line of vision and the air was suddenly knocked out of his lungs. Standing about ten feet away, gazing into a store front window as a very young, very human Tom Riddle. Harry would have pulled his wand out of his pocket if he hadn't noticed two things right off the bat. One, his scar wasn't hurting in the slightest and two, Ed wasn't trying to keep away from the man. Instead, Harry's blond teacher sprinted forward and tackled the man, causing the both of them to land on the ground with a thud.

Envy, who had been smart enough to jump onto Hermione's shoulder before his half-brother took off in a dead sprint, simply rolled his eyes and turned his attention elsewhere.

Harry relaxed when he realized that they were in no danger. He quietly walked forward, still remaining cautious because of the fact that the stranger _did_ look like Voldemort. And Harry wasn't the only one to notice. Draco was a little paler that usual but he didn't act on his instincts to run. The four watched as the man laughed before wrapping his arms around the beautiful blond. If Harry suspected him of being Voldemort before, he knew now, for sure, that the dark-haired young man was not the Dark Lord. There was no way, acting or not, that Riddle could show as much love and compassion of a person as this stranger was when he looked Ed in the eyes.

"Well, hello there," the man chuckled. "Do I know you?"

"Shut up, Colonel Bastard," Ed replied with a light punch before kissing the older man, not caring in the least who saw them or what their opinions were. The four students looked away politely, not wanting to intrude on the private moment.

That was when the missing piece clicked into place. Harry recalled from his conversation with Ed a couple of weeks ago that the blond alchemist had said that Voldemort looked like someone from his own world, on the other side of the Gate.

"Who is that?" Draco asked.

"Roy Mustang," Harry supplied. "He is from—" Harry cut off, not sure if he should finish his sentence.

"Oh, the one from Ed's world," Draco finished. Upon seeing Harry's confused face, the Malfoy heir chuckled slightly. "Sev and Ed filled me and Luna in on everything the night before the names were announced. Since Teacher had already told you and Hermione, there was no point in telling you again."

Harry sighed as he nodded. "I guess you are right." Harry blinked before looking at Draco. "Did he say who his other two students were?"

Draco shook his head, looking a little peeved. "He wouldn't tell me."

"Who are these young people?"

Harry turned his attention back to Ed and realized that the pair had gotten off of the ground in the time he and Draco had been talking.

"These are my students; the only ones whom I felt were worthy of learning Alchemy."

The dark-haired man—Roy—looked surprised for a moment before he grinned. "It's nice to meet you four. My name is Roy Mustang, even though I am pretty sure Ed has told you all by now. I am also known as the Flame Alchemist."

"It is nice to meet you sir," Hermione replied with a grin. "My name is Hermione Granger. This is Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, and Harry Potter," the brunette supplied as she pointed to her classmates, introducing them respectively.

"What are we doing in Hogsmeade, Teacher?" Luna questioned with a smile.

"I wanted you all to meet Roy, since we will probably be working with him pretty soon. He, my brother Al, and Teacher—the one that taught _me_ Alchemy—will be working together to bring you up to standards, so to speak," Ed replied with a shrug.

The four students nodded in understanding. This year was sure to be an interesting one.

LINEBREAK!

Ed's four students were quick to realize just where Ed got his homicidal teaching techniques from. They soon learned to _never_ mess with Izumi Curtis, especially if she was carrying around her favorite butcher knife. Even with the crazy lessons and strange occurances—such as the one with the apple, a helium tank, and a certain fox (Don't ask!)—things quickly fell into a routine. Even though the four had yet to come up with the answer to Ed's (Izumi's) riddle, they were still trained to make their bodies stronger as well as memorizing the materials and information they need to apply when performing actual Alchemy. Ed wouldn't even so much as let them draw a circle until they came up with an answer. Needless to say, by the time the Career Event was upon them, the four of them were ready to pull their hair out.

"We may be over thinking things," Hermione commented as she sat down Merlin's _Guide to Magical Riddles_.

"But how?" Draco grubbed. "What are we missing?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "'All is One, One is All.' Sometime the answer to life's questions can be rather simple."

Harry sighed as he looked down at the muggle science book that he had been reading. He was about ready to through the book when something seemed to jump out at him. "Guys?"

The other three turned their attention to Harry.

"I think we may be over thinking this." He quickly turned the book to face the group. Situated in the middle of the page was a diagram that showed the common food chain. "What if this riddle is about life? When we die, our bodies are decomposed into the ground. That decomposing is created by insects that literally eat our bodies up. Those insects are then eaten by birds or chickens. The chickens or what even animal that eats it are then eaten by humans, restarting the entire process over again after we die. What if we, as humans, are only small parts of a bigger whole? The 'one' in 'all', so to speak."

"Harry, that is brilliant!" Hermione grinned. "It is the basics of Alchemy; knowing when an object deconstructs, reconstructs into something else, and understanding that cycle. It is a giant circle, so to speak."

The group nearly jumped out of their skin again when Ed walked out of the shadows, clapping; a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. "Well done, Mr. Potter. And," Ed quickly glanced at his watch, "with four days left to spare."

The Alchemy students shared a grin before giving each other a high five for a job well done.

"We might want to hurry. The Career Event will be beginning soon and I don't want the employers to miss out on the possibility of meeting any of you. Alchemy is a great skill to possess when looking for _any_ job," Ed said as he waved the group towards the door.

Envy gave Ed a look that clearly stated '_you wish Alchemy was that important.'_ Ed simply ignored the fox.

The Great Hall was bustling with excitement was students ran around, looking at different booths. The Event was open to the entire school population but the only ones that were able to gather actual information was the Fifth Years and above. Ed quickly spotted Roy, who was busy working with Rosemerta, handing out bottles of butterbeer to students and vendors alike. Some of the older students were even inquiring about jobs. Harry was happy to see that Draco's father was nowhere in sight. It was even stranger considering Draco was thinking the same thing.

"Look at all of the people," Hermione commented quietly. "I wonder if there is someone here who owns a Researching Company."

Ed laughed. "You and I both, Hermione. I would love to be able to travel again and get paid to research along the way." Ed's face gained a wistful look. "Those were the days." The blond quickly shook himself out of his daze, trying not to think on the past too much. He had his friends and family here and that was all that mattered.

"There you are, Ed," Dumbledore smiled as he walked over to the group. He was wearing another one of his ridiculous outfits again: purple robes with a bright green and yellow floral pattern that seemed to shift every few seconds. Ed grinned again, knowing the old man did this to attract attention in the oddest way possibly.

"Hello Albus. What can I do for you?" Ed replied with a smile.

"Nothing at all, my boy. I just wanted to make sure you were enjoying the festivities."

"Very much so. I was actually about to go and see if I could steal Roy away from Rosemerta for a few moments."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I am sure she won't mind."

Ed excused himself politely before he made his way to Roy. But before he could even get a couple of feet, chaos broke out. Students began to scream and run in different directions. Ed's heart dropped as his eyes quickly found Harry, looking for any sign as to if Voldemort was in the castle. Harry, however, looked just as surprised and didn't seem to be in any pain at all. Ed quickly came to the conclusion that Voldemort was not present and that belief was confirmed when three Death Eaters walked into the center of the room and began to fire curses at the students and vendors.

"Fuck," Ed cursed as he slapped his palms together and made the ground jump up, creating a wall between a group of students and the curses the Death Eaters were firing.

One of the masked freaks quickly spotted Ed. A crazy grin spread across his face as he fired a curse. Ed quickly ducked, accidently knocking Envy to the ground. The blond muttered a quick apology as he constructed a very ornate spear out of the stone ground. Ed ran forward, knocking one of the Death Eaters to the ground, pinning his robe into place with the spear. One of them made a grab for Ed but was quickly blasted back with a snap of Roy's fingers. The last standing Death Eater reached into his robes and threw something at Ed. The blond caught the object before it hit him in the face.

"Really, now?" Ed commented as he looked at the object and then back at the Death Eater. "You are going to through a pin cushion at me and expect it to scare me?"

The Death Eater must have lost his mind because he was still grinning, even after the Aurors had apprehended him. Ed frowned, worrying slightly about the man's sanity. He was about to walk away when Hermione quickly shouted, "Drop it, Ed! That's a Portkey!"

Ed blinked in confusion. "What?"

Before the brunette could even respond, Ed felt a strange tug in his gut as his feet left solid ground. Instead of landing with a thud like he thought he would, Ed landed with a flump on a rather soft surface. Before he could even sit up, Ed felt ropes coil around his hands, locking them into place behind his back. His heart rate speed up as an identical length of rope bound his feet together. Ed bit his lip heard enough to draw blood, the crimson liquid running down his chin as his golden eyes met a pair of very familiar blood-red once.

"Hello, Edward. Fancy seeing you again," Voldemort commented lightly from his place in a chair, which was sitting directly beside the bed Ed was laying on.

"You fucking bastard," Ed hissed as he struggled to pull the ropes off of his hands. He couldn't even turn his hands to clap his palms together.

Voldemort sighed heavily. "Looks like we're are back to the insults."

Ed simple glared, hoping his fear wasn't showing behind his brave façade. Unfortunately, Voldemort had become rather good at reading Ed's emotions, hidden or not. He simply grinned unemotionally before walking forward. Ed quickly struggled to keep as much distance between the two as possible but that proved difficult due to the ropes binding him. Voldemort reached over and grabbed ahold of Ed's chin, making him look Voldemort directly in the eyes.

"Looks like I finally have you again. And I will not be letting you go anytime soon," the Dark Lord commented in a whisper. However, the words sounded like a shout and a death sentence to Ed. He bit his already torn lip again, trying to keep himself from hyperventilating.

Voldemort must have sensed Ed's difficultly in keeping his calm because he took a step back, putting a little bit of distance between the two. Ed noticed instantly that there was something different about the man; something that was missing from the last time he saw him. But he couldn't put his finger on exactly what _it_ was.

"I can't have you passing out on me, now can I?" Voldemort commented as Ed was on the verge of hyperventilating. "I'll let you make yourself reacquainted with your quarters. We can. . . talk again tomorrow, after you are well rested." With those words, Voldemort walked out of the room, locking the door from the outside with a flick of his wand. The ropes holding Ed into place quickly disappeared.

Ed jumped up and ran to the door, trying to pry the wood open but to no avail. Ed then began to pound on the door until his left hand began to bleed from the repeated pounding. His automail arm didn't even make a dent in the mahogany wood. The pounding began to slow down as Ed quietly slid to the floor, tears running down his face in rivers. He let out a sob before burying his head in his knees and wrapping his arms around his legs. He cried for most of the afternoon; crying at his own damn luck and silently cursing the bastard that had kidnapped him yet again; only this time, Ed wasn't sure if he would be able to survive the torture that Voldemort had planned for him.

"Damn it," Ed whispered between sobs, his shoulders shaking slightly. "Why? Why does it have to be me?" he asked, talking into a room that held more horrible memories than the house he had burned down back in Resembrol. He knew that he would be tortured again, not only from the nightmares that would soon become apparent in the forefront of his mind but also from the monster that keep him prisoner. It was almost identical to last time, except Ed was almost certain that he wouldn't make it out of this manor with his sanity intact. If he even escaped again, his mind would more than likely be in ruins.

**(Author hides behind an armor that looks identical to Al's.) I know you probably want to kill me but Ed had to confront Voldemort sooner or later. Please note that this is NOT the end of this story. I will end up passing the ten chapter range and my new goal is fifteen, even though this story could pass into the twenties. Please let me know if I am keeping the characters in character as well as if I am rushing this story line too much. I know it may seem a little soon but I had this chapter planned out from the very beginning. **

**On another note, I will be explain just why Voldemort is so obsessed with our little Edo-kun. This means, of course, the some of Tom Riddle's past will be revealed in more dept and change, if it has to, in order to meet the idea I have planned out. **

**So I have question for all of you. I am thinking about bringing back some of the Homunculus and I already know which one I am going to bring back. Remember, Wrath and Envy are the only current Homunculus that are in the story, at this time. I need some feedback. Who should I bring and how should I bring them back? Ideas are extremely welcomed.**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed! As always, Read and Review! Until next time!**

**-KleopatraAlexandria **


	9. Chapter 9

Avoid and Evade: Chapter Nine

SNAP! BOOM!

Even a couple of hours after Ed had been kidnapped, Harry could still hear the sounds of one Roy Mustang destroying the trees at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He soon learned exactly why this young man was the doppelganger of the Dark Lord: Roy Mustang was scary when pissed off. And upon having his lover taken right before his very eyes was reason enough for the current destructive temper tantrum that the Flame Alchemist was having.

"I do hope he calms down soon," Hermione said as she wrung her hands together. "At least then we might be able to find a way to get Ed back."

"I doubt he will calm down. I don't really blame him for his actions though," Draco commented. "I think the only person that could rival his anger was Envy."

All four of the teens shuddered as they remembered Envy's rage as he changed into a dragon and even began to breathe fire as he realized what happened to _his_ ochibi-chan.

"Potter, Granger, Lovegood, Draco," Snape called as he walked into the classroom where the group was sitting. "The headmaster wishes to see you four."

"What about Roy, sir?" Luna asked.

Snape's expression morphed into one of sympathy. "Albus is going out to speak with him. I doubt the centaurs and the other monsters of the forest appreciated the destruction of their home."

The four nodded as they got up and made their way to Dumbledore's office. Even before they had left the classroom, the explosions had stopped, indicating that Dumbledore has calmed Roy down, at least a little.

"Harry?"

Harry turned to see a familiar petite girl with flaming red hair. Her pretty face was scrunched together in concern and. . . fear?

"Ginny?" Harry replied as he ran over to the younger girl. "What's wrong?"

"That man. . . the one who was destroying the forest, why does he look like Riddle?" Ginny asked, tears welding up in her eyes. "Is it Riddle or a relative of his?"

Harry sighed as he carded a hand though his hair. "No. That wasn't Voldemort. His name is Roy Mustang." Harry paused for a moment. "You know how we told you about Ed bring from a different dimension?" Harry asked, recalling his conversation with the twins and Ginny, swearing them to secrecy afterwards. "Roy is from Ed's world, on the other side of the Gate."

Ginny nodded as she wiped the tears out of her eyes. "But what happened to Ed?"

"Voldemort managed to capture him. We are heading to Professor Dumbledore's office to try and figure out how to get Teacher back," Harry replied.

"I'm coming with you," Ginny insisted.

"No, you're not," Harry countered only to receive the trademark Weasley glare.

"Yes, I am. Besides Ed, I am the only one who has come into contact with Voldemort when he was known as Tom Riddle; that is if you don't count the professors," Ginny stated, a determined look in her eyes. "I want to help."

Harry sighed and was about to argue when Snape cut him off. "We do not have time to argue. If Ms. Weasley insists she is coming, then we might as well include her. She does offer a valid point."

Harry reluctantly accepted Snape's answer and the group made their way up the stairs to Dumbledore's office. It was only when they passed a shadowed corner that Harry realized someone as sitting thee, watching them.

"Bloody hell!" Draco cursed as he realized the same thing Harry did.

Sitting in the corner was a petite figure. A blood red cloth covered the person's body, with the only things being visible were the person's legs and half of their face. Harry could tell automatically that the figure was a woman. Her nose and mouth were visible all the way down to the top of her breasts. The group took in the blood red symbol before the young woman let out a creepy laugh, startling them.

"I scared you! I scared you!" the woman sang in a high-pitched voice.

Snape was the first to respond. He pulled his wand out and aimed it at the figure. "State you name and how you go into the school grounds."

The young woman frowned, an expression that didn't seem to match her appearance. But as quickly as the laugh had appeared, it was gone and so as the woman, leaving a creepy laughter in her wake.

INTERLUDEMEMORY!

_Ed couldn't remember the last time he had been in so much pain. His broken leg refused to heal and the infection that had set in between his bones was slowly killing him. Only a week after his escape from Riddle Manor, Ed was almost positive that he was going to die. There was no humanly possible way for him to survive such a high fever and strong infection that was slowly seeping into his bloodstream._

_Ed was currently laying on the cheap motel bed, a wet cloth draped across his forehead in an ill attempt to reduce his fever. The eighteen-year-old was bundled up in at least six blankets and he was still shivering from the high fever. Ed moaned as he head gave another painful throb. He silently prayed for Envy to return soon as the darkness finally consumed him._

_Envy found the pipsqueak in the same position as he had left him a few hours ago. Only this time, the teen wasn't even moving; his shivering had even stopped._

"_Shit," Envy cursed, realizing that his half-brother had slipped into a fever-induced coma._

_The fox quickly scampered off, running around the town of Munich, Germany, trying to find that damned Hohenheim. As luck would have it, when Envy wasn't paying attention, he ran right into the leg of the person he was looking for._

"_Well, what is a fox doing here in the city?" the bi-speckled man asked with a chuckle._

_Envy gave him a glare. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you."_

_A look of shock passed across the older man's face. "William? Is that you?"_

"_No, I'm Santa Claus," Envy replied sarcastically. "Of course it is, you moron. I don't have time to chat. You need to come with me."_

_Hohenheim frowned. "Whatever for?"_

_Envy quickly grew impatient. "Because your other son is currently dying for an infection and you may be the only person that can save him."_

"_Edward is here? Quickly, lead the way."_

_Envy took off in a dead sprint, glancing behind him occasionally to make sure his useless excuse of a father was following. The pair quickly made it to the motel room and Hohenheim could only stare at the state his son was in._

"_Don't just stand there, you moron. Help him," Envy snapped, looking like he was ready to start foaming at the mouth._

_Hohenheim nodded as he quickly set to work. "What is causing the fever?"_

"_An infection in his right leg. Some wizard bastard by the name of Tom Riddle broke his leg so many times that an infection set up between the snapped halves," Envy supplied as he changed back to human form and replaced the warm rag with a cool one._

_Hohenheim was silent for a moment. "There is one thing I _can _do. However," he looked over at Envy, "it will cost me my life."_

"_You are willing to let your son die?" Envy hissed, not really sure why he cared for the pathetic human that was always causing him trouble._

_Hohenheim held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "That is not what I meant. I merely thought you wanted to be the one who killed me. I would gladly give my life, if that meant Edward would live. But why exactly do you care?"_

_Envy paused for a moment, confusion clearly written on his face. Why did he care? What had changed in the last week that made him go from wanting to kill the brat to trying to save him?_

'_It's because of whom you are,' a little voice in the back of his head replied. 'You are _envious_ of the relationship that humans have with each other and you want that relationship for yourself.'_

_Envy quickly shoved the voice away. 'No. I want to save him so I can be the one to get rid of him,' Envy countered but he knew instantly that the thought wasn't true. He had somehow grown attached to the person for whom he had been caring for. But even if he was admitting it to himself, he would admit it aloud._

"_Just heal him," Envy replied not even bothering to answer the old man's question._

_Hohenheim chuckled, as if he already knew that answer. "Alright."_

Envy blinked as he awoke from the daydream/memory he was having. Dumbledore's office was quite unlike the usual quiet state it was _always_ in. Voices carrying different tones and thought flew through the air over Envy's head. Everyone who knew his ochibi-chan best was there: the Curtis', Alphonse, the mechanic girl and her grandmother, the four brat-children—Ed's students—Snape, Dumbledore, and, last but not least, Roy Mustang who was sitting in one of the room's random corners (how could a circular room have corners?) looking just about ready to storm Riddle Manor to get the Fullmetal Alchemist back. Envy knew of the relationship they had before, back in Amestris, and their current, in the open relationship. He also knew of the tricks Voldemort played _using_ the relationship between Ed and Roy.

The only one out of place in the entire room was the pretty petite girl with bright red hair. From what Envy could tell, the young girl was Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginvera "Ginny" Weasley. She seemed to be lost in her own thought and would occasionally glance over at the Flame Alchemist and begin to mutter to herself.

"But we can't just storm the place," Izumi supplied as she banged her fist down on the desk as she yelled into the face of one Ron Weasley.

"Sure we can. All we have to do is gather up a bunch of Order members and raid the manor. Snape can help us find the location," the ginger replied as he puffed his chest out in pride.

Draco snorted. "Sure, and after everyone is either captured or dead, we can all have a tea party with Severus, who will be in the dungeons for treason. Great idea, Weasely. We should give you an award."

The ginger turned red in the face, his ears now matching the color of his hair. "No one asked for you opinion, ferret."

Draco narrowed his eyes as his cheeks turned a pale shade of pink.

"Ronald," Hermione chide as she stood up from her chair. "Draco is just as much of a part of this as you are. The least you can do is show him some respect."

"But we can't trust him, Hermione! For all we know, he could have been the one to let the Death Eaters in!" Ron argued.

"Draco was with us the whole morning, Ronald. Please tell me when he could have possibly let the Death Eaters into the castle if he never left our," she gestured to herself, Harry, and Luna "sight the entire time."

The ginger glared at Hermione. Envy definitely did not like this child. He was acting like a five year old who couldn't get his way. "Whose side are you on, Hermione?"

"There are no sides, Ron," Hermione insisted with a heavy sigh. "The only thing that matters it that we get Ed back."

"What if he doesn't want to come back? What if he staged the entire thing to get attention?"

Three things happened all at the same time. Roy's eyes snapped up and glared at the ginger. Hermione stepped back as if she had been slapped. Both of their actions paled in comparison to the reaction of the older Homunculus in the room. Envy jumped of the desk and was in the form of a dragon in less than a second. Ron fell to the group, his eyes wide and body trembling as he locked eyes with Envy's own rage filled ones.

"I dare you to say that again! You have no idea the hell that man put Ed through in the two years he was captured there," Envy hissed, steam literally coming out of his mouth. "Now I have two options for you: either you shut up or I will personally see to it that you can _never_ breathe again."

The boy paled even more as he backed away from the dragon, only stopping when his back hit Dumbledore's desk.

"I have to agree with Envy, as odd as it may sound," Wrath commented. "We can't risk them hurting Ed to try and stop us."

"Then what do we do?" Harry asked suddenly as he stood up, knocking his chair to the floor. "We can't just leave him there."

"I think I have an idea."

Everyone turned and looked at the youngest of the Weasely children. Envy was a little surprised that she had spoken at all.

"It may seem a little crazy and might take about a week to put into action but it might work," Ginny suggested, a little nervous.

"Does it involve anything reckless?" Izumi asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Ginny shook her head. "Not if planned carefully enough."

"Then let's hear it, Ms. Weasley" Dumbledore said, talking for the first time that day.

Ginny drew in a deep breath and began to relay her plan, all eyes on her petite form.

**I know this is a little short and I know Ed doesn't make an actual appearance but I hope this suffices. The next chapter will reveal Ginny's plan as well as how Ed is doing. The mysterious woman hasn't been forgotten, by the way. Envy was just asleep for that half of the coversation. Until next time! Please Read and Review!**

**-KleopatraAlexandria**


	10. Chapter 10

Avoid and Evade: Chapter Ten

**Author's Note: For those of you who read the original _Avoid and Evade_, this is the last chapter that is going to be familiar to you. For those of you who are new, please enjoy! And as always, Read and Review!**

When Ed came to, the first thing he noticed was the dull throbbing in his left hand. The next was the pair of crimson red eyes watching him. Ed groaned before sitting up, momentarily wondering ad gotten off of the floor.

"What day is it?" Ed asked reluctantly.

"Thursday. You have been unconscious for four days. You seemed to have worn yourself out," Voldemort replied as he marked his place in the book he was reading. "Dumbledore even sent Severus to check and see if you were still alive. The old cot is rather foolish, thinking Severus's loyalties lie with him." Voldemort chuckled lightly.

Ed said nothing, opting to glare at the red-eyed demon. The blond alchemist broke eye contact with the bastard and surveyed the room. The blood-red sheets hadn't looked like the aged a day. The mahogany doors that lead out to the corridor and the en suite were still the exact same shade of brown as they were fifty years ago. Nothing about the room had changed, nor had anything about the man sitting in from of him. It was like Ed had stepped into a time-capsule, where everything had stayed exactly the same, himself included.

"What is on your mind, Edward?" Voldemort chuckled as he watched Ed like a hyena might watch their prey.

"How to get the hell out of this damn hell hole," Ed replied. He nearly flinched when Voldemort leveled his wand of yew with Ed's face.

"Remember what happened last time you tried to escape?" Voldemort asked redundantly.

Ed bit the inside of his cheek, filling his mouth with blood, which he quickly spat into the Dark Lord's face. Voldemort looked less that amused. In the next second, Ed was on his back, biting back the screams that torn through his throat as he was placed under the Cruciatus Curse. He was left breathless as Voldemort lifted the curse after what seemed like an eternity, but, in reality, it had only been a few seconds.

"I would be careful with what you do, Edward," Voldemot hissed as he grabbed a fist full of Ed's hair and pulled him up, their faces barely an inch apart. "Next time, you won't be as lucky."

Ed simply glared but didn't so much as say a word. Voldemort smirked before forcing his lips onto Ed's. The blond thrashed until the older man was off of him. His right arm hit Voldemort's making the man drop him onto the bed. The Dark Lord looked surprised as he rubbed the spot where Ed's automail had hit.

"It looks like you found a better prosthetic," Voldemort commented with a smirk. "Make yourself comfortable. I am pretty sure you remember where everything is."

"Where are you going?" Ed asked, his voice emotionless as he rubbed his mouth, trying to get rid of the feeling of the man's lips on his.

Voldemort smirked. "I have a meeting with the vampires of Scandinavia in France. I will be leaving tomorrow after breakfast and will be gone for about a week. One of my most trusted Death Eaters will be watching you until I return." Voldemort quickly check the watch he was wearing. "I expect you to be at breakfast tomorrow by eight sharp. Your spare clothes are over there," Voldemort gestured to the mahogany wardrobe. "We will discuss your lack of aging in the morning." With those final words, Voldemort walked out the door, locking the room again as he left.

Ed sighed heavily and sank back into the covers, wincing slightly when he jarred his battered body. He really hoped Voldemort wouldn't decide he wanted to spend the night in Ed's room. Ed just knew the man wouldn't keep his hands to himself.

Ed tipped his head back, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. No, he wouldn't cry. He _would_ find a way to get back to his family; back to Roy. As far as he knew, Voldemort had no idea that others had traveled across the Gate and into this world. And there were really only two other people Tom could hurt; one of them already dead and the other Voldemort believed to be on his side. Ed clenched his hands into fists as he remember the day his first students graduated from his tutoring, so to speak.

_Lily Evans stood before him, her eyes bright with pride and wearing a smile that could light up the entire town. Severus stood next to her, just as equally happy even though his somber expression didn't show much. Ed smiled at his students before pulling two pendants in the shape of the Flamel symbol out of his pocket._

"_Since both of you have done your best to complete the rules I have laid down for you, I will now present the both of you with these pendants as a sign that you are my pupils." Ed quickly slipped the necklaces over the both of their heads, letting the silver crosses rest over their chests, the gemstones in the center shining in the bright sun._

_Lily squeaked as she gave Ed a hug before jumping and hugging Severus, who simply laughed in response. _

"_Now," Ed interrupted before the pair could get too excited. Envy sat on the Alchemist's shoulder, staring at the pendants with interest. "Those necklaces have protective powers to them. Do _not_, I repeat, do not remove them. They might just save your life one day."_

"_We swear," the pair replied at the same time, causing Ed to smile._

For whatever reason, the powers that Ed had placed on the pendants failed when Voldemort attacked Lily and her family that Halloween night. It could also have something to do with the fact that she willingly laid her life down for her son. Ed wasn't exactly sure what had happened but he knew dwelling on the past wasn't going to get him anywhere. He quickly laid back onto the silk pillowcases and prepared himself for a long night of little to no sleep.

LINEBREAK!

Ed quietly padded across the carpeted floors the next morning, leaving his room fifteen minutes early because he just knew Voldemort was looking for some excuse to do something to the young alchemist. The Death Eater that was accompanying Ed stayed about five feet from him due to the giant snake that slithered across the floor. Apparently, the doors needed a password to unlock them and that password was only in the snake language.

Ed walked into the dining room and surveyed the occupants of the table. Voldemort was sitting at the head of the table, reading a newspaper and sipping his tea. The only other two people at the table was a blond couple. Ed could tell right off the bat these two were Draco's parents. The male was glaring at Ed as if the alchemist had just killed his favorite pet. The woman seemed pleasant enough as she gave Ed a smile in greeting before turning back to the scones she had been buttering when Ed walked through the door.

"If you wish to keep your face intact, Lucius, I suggest you get rid of that look on your face," Voldemort said, not even looking up from his paper.

The Lord Malfoy quickly schooled his features into an expressionless mask before greeting Ed with a nod. Ed returned the gesture before walking over to the chair immediately to Voldemort's right. He quietly sat down in the seat he used to occupy when he first lived in this Manor. Lucius looked as if he wanted to comment but said nothing, only stabbing his bacon with his knife. Voldemort quietly folded his paper.

"I will be leaving at eight-thirty for my meeting with the vampires," the Dark Lord informed the table as Ed stared at his empty plate. His nerves were still to shot to eat anything. "Lucius, I expect everything to be the same when I return in a week. Edward is allowed into the library during the day hours and he is to be escorted back to his room after dinner, at exactly six-thirty in the evening. If I return and he is harmed in any way or missing, it is _your_ life, not anyone else's that will be on the line. Am I understood?"

Lucius nodded quickly. "Why not just take him with you, my Lord? I am pretty sure he would like the opportunity to see France."

Voldemort paused in thought for a moment as Ed's heart began to hammer in his chest. If he stayed here, he might actually have the chance to escape again. If he went with Voldemort. . .

"That might not be such a wise idea. I do not trust the vampires with what is mine—"

"I am not an object," Ed protested suddenly, causing the Death Eaters surrounding the walls to inhale sharply.

Voldemort chuckled. "Of course not, Edward, but that doesn't change the fact that you belong to me and no one else."

Ed narrowed his eyes. "I do not belong to you, you fucking bastard. Get that through your god-damn head."

The Death Eaters were starting to sweat now but instead of becoming enraged like his minions expected him to, Voldemort simply laughed. "How I missed your brash personality. It's sort of refreshing amidst all of these boring, order-following idiots."

Ed's glare intensified but he sat back into his seat without another word.

"I won't be taking Edward with me. Again, I don't trust the vampires, not that I trust any of you with a task of this proportion." Voldemort glanced at his watch again. "Avery, I need you to watch Edward for me. He may roam where he wished but he is not allowed outside. I expect you all to take turns and do _not_ leave him alone for even a moment. Nagini will most likely be hunting for the next couple of days. Someone is to be constantly outside of Edward's room at night. I have momentarily lifted the Parseltongue Charm that is on the door."

All of the Death Eaters bowed to their lord in respect. Voldemort quickly stood and donned his traveling cloak. He quickly turned back to Ed and leaned down to whisper into his ear, "Remember my warning. If you try and escape, I will find some way to cross that Gate and kill every single person you care about in your world, even if that means burning it to the ground."

Ed set his jaw and gave a stiff nod in response. Voldemort quickly grazed his lips across Ed's cheek before turning on his heels and leaving the room. Ed gave an inaudible sigh of relief. He stood up from his chair and one of the masked minions were quickly by his side. They quietly made their way to the library.

"Did you want anything while you are reading?" Avery asked after about two hours. He had been oddly patient, sitting on the sofa, watching Ed read.

The blond merely shook his head. He jumped when the library door opened with an audible click. Ed looked up and nearly groaned when he saw Voldemort walking in.

"I thought you were on your way to France," Ed complained without thinking.

"I was. But I decided to take you with me instead of leaving you here. I trust these idiots about as far as I can throw them," the dark haired man replied with a smirk as he tapped his wand against the palm of his other hand, the dark wood of holly glinting in the sunlight.

"Of course, my Lord," Avery replied with a bow.

Ed couldn't suppress his groan this time. "Do I need to pack?"

"Of course not. I have already had the house elves move your things to the villa."

Ed sighed as he put the book he was reading down. He didn't even bother to mark his page. He wouldn't be back for a week at the very least. Ed quickly got up and walked over to the Dark Lord. He nearly jumped out of his skin when a black piece of cloth was draped over his eyes.

"I can't have you escaping, now can I?" the man chuckled as he tied the cloth behind Ed's head.

Ed silently cursed, hating the feeling of being without his eyesight. He felt Voldemort grab ahold of his arm and lead him out of the Manor, to the Appertain Point. Completely blinded, Ed could do nothing more than allow the man to lead him to their destination. He felt a familiar tug in his gut as the Portkey activated, taking the two always from Riddle Manor.

Ed's feet hit the ground and he stumbled forward, falling into a pair of strong arms. He struggled to pry the arms away before righting himself. He bit the inside of his cheek again, causing more blood to fill his mouth. He absolutely _hated _being blind. As an Alchemist, he relied heavily on his senses, especially his sight. He needed to know exactly what he was transmutating in order to prevent a rebound.

Ed jumped again as he heard Voldemort whisper something into his ear. _Where were we at?_ the logical part of his mind questioned before he felt the arm wrap back around his arm, this time a little less harshly. Ed let himself be led up some stone steps and though a door.

Their destination was unusually quiet, especially for a villa in France. Ed strained his ears, trying his hardest to pick up any possibly sound. He was again being lead forward and then to the right before beginning guided to a couch. Ed sat down and waited for what seemed like an eternity. He finally got sick of the damn blindfold and torn the piece of cloth off his face.

Instead of some rich interior, Ed frowned as he took in the worn down state of the sitting room. The place looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in nearly two decades. Mold was growing on the wallpaper as spiders and cobwebs covered the light fixtures. All in all, the room was in such a sorry state that Ed didn't wish to see the rest of the house. The door to Ed's left clicked slightly and Ed turned, his heart leaping into his throat, expecting Voldemort to walk back through the door at any given moment. What Ed saw shocked the blond alchemist so much that he was rendered speechless.

Standing in the doorway, grinning like a fool was petite, fourteen-year-old Ginny Wealsely. She gave a squeak of excitement before running forward and throwing her arms around Ed.

"Oh my god! It worked," she shouted as she nearly broke one of Ed's ribs.

Those five words was all it took for the floodgates of people to open. The next thing Ed knew, he was on the floor, under his four students, Al, Winry, and even Envy, who was currently in his usual fox form, head-butting Ed's cheek.

"What the hell is going on?" a shocked Ed asked as he finally found his voice.

"I believe it is called a rescue mission," a familiar voice replied.

Ed turned to see what appeared to be Voldemort standing in the doorway. Upon closer inspection, Ed realized that his eyes were cobalt blue instead of red. Roy was dressed in a nearly identical outfit to the one Voldemort had been wearing when Ed had last seen him. Roy gave Ed a soft smile as the blond scrabbled off of the floor and stocked over to the Flame Alchemist.

"You fucking bastard," Ed whispered as he halfheartedly hit Roy repeatedly on the chest. "You have no idea how scared I was." His voice began to tremble as the last words escaped his lips, betraying his emotions.

Ed laid his head on Roy's chest as tear of relief poured down his face. Roy gently wrapped his arms around his love and held him close.

"I'm sorry," Roy replied softly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Ed shook his head as he swallowed, his throat burning slightly. "Whose idea was this?"

Harry and Hermione grinned before pointing to Ginny. The young girl blushed and turned an even darker shade of red as Ed gave her a tight hug.

"Thank you so much," Ed whispered.

Ginny smiled. "You're welcome."

Ed sniffed before clearing his throat. "How did you do it?"

"Well," Ginny began. "I noticed the obvious similarity between Roy and Voldemort and it got me thinking, could Roy pass off at the Dark Lord? I relayed the idea to everyone and we began to plot. We first had to make sure Roy had the mannerisms down and the cocky attitude and smirk was no problem for him."

"What about Voldemort's wand?" Ed knew that the snake would definitely notice his missing wand. "Was Severus involved?"

"That reminds me," Roy said as he pulled the wand out of his back pocket and handed it to Harry.

Ed looked at the wand closely and saw that is was nearly identical to Voldemort's except it was made of holly instead of yew.

"Thanks," Harry replied. Upon seeing Ed's confused look, Harry chuckled. "Mine and Voldemort's wands share the same core, making them brother wands. The only thing that is different is the wand material and length, though not by much. As of Professor Snape, he had nothing to do with this plot. Ginny even asked him to leave the room so that he knew nothing about the plan, just in case something went wrong."

Ed shook his head I disbelief. "And let me guess." He turned back to look at Roy. "Contacts?"

The Flame Alchemist grinned before nodding. Ed smiled back as he felt his brother latch onto his arm.

"Are you tired, Nii-san?" Al asked innocently.

Ed smiled before shaking his head. "I'm fine, Al."

His brother grinned and Ed couldn't have been happier that he was at that moment. Even though he knew Voldemort would not be the happiest person in the entire world when he realized what occurred, Ed couldn't bring himself to worry or care. All that mattered in that moment was the fact that he was safe with his family and friends. He gave Roy a soft kiss before laying his head onto Roy's shoulder, closing his eyes with a content smile. He chuckled slightly when he felt Envy rub his head against his cheek in a comforting manner. There was nothing that Ed cared about more than the current moment.


	11. Chapter 11

**Avoid and Evade: Chapter Eleven**

**Author's Note: Here is the chapter that some of you have been waiting a year for! I apologize for the delay on this chapter. Unfortunately, real life and school hit me pretty hard this past year. I am kind of glad I waited on finishing this chapter, however. Not because it took so long, but because the original idea I had planned for this story was completely different from how it is going to go. However, since I still like the original idea, I will be creating an AU, so to speak, for this story. Even though it is the original idea, I will label it as AU so that everyone can distinguish the two. The other timeline will begin from the original Chapter Ten. One of the first noticeable differences between the two stories is the absents of any other Homunculus, except of course for Envy and Wrath. Let me know what you guys think. Should I just start from where Chapter Ten left off or should I repost the first ten chapters and go from there? **

**On another note, the chapters will slow down in updating status. Up until this point, the chapters have been from the original story, just with a couple of grammar fixes and added scenes and characters. Drop me a PM if you have any questions or leave a review if you do not have an account.**

**ReginaDC21: Please let your sister know I said hi. I have missed her feedback and really hope she has been able to read the story thus far.**

**Guest: I am glad you have stuck with the story. I hope the previous chapters didn't disappoint.**

**Ugly Owl: I am glad you like the story thus far and I really love the reviews you have been sending.**

**Homunculus Talley So Far: Greed- 3; Lust- 1**

**You guys seem to sure like Greed, so I think I have figured out a way to bring him into the story. For those of you who haven't reviews yet, please leave a comment and vote on the Homunculus. Any flames will be eaten by Gluttony. :D As always, Read and Review!**

For the next week, Roy did not let Ed out of his sight for even a second. Normally it would have pissed the blond alchemist off but having spent over half a century without the Flame Alchemist enabled Ed to deal with the constant babying. It was in Potions class that Roy left to go back to his cottage, leaving Ed in Snape's care.

"It seems as though you cannot keep yourself out of trouble," Severus stated as he leaned against the wall next to Ed, the pair watching the students as they brewed a rather complex potion.

Ed gave a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head. "It's not like I do it on purpose."

"Of course not," Severus replied sarcastically.

Ed grinned before his smile faltered. "I don't mean to bring up a bad subject but I have to know," the blonde alchemist said quietly.

Severus raised an eyebrow, his way of indicating for Ed to continue.

"I thought I gave her the protection she needed to be safe. How come the stone failed?" Ed questioned quietly as he glanced sideways to his former student.

Severus sighed heavily as he surveyed the class, mentally checking for any errors. Once he was sure the students were on track, he replied: "It was right after our fights," Severus flinched in remembrance, "Lily became very upset and said she wanted nothing more to do with me and that part of her life. She tore the necklace off and threw it to the ground. She didn't even turn and pick the pieces up. She simply stormed off, completely ignoring me as I tried to convince her to talk to me."

Ed released a shaky breathe, trying to keep is emotions in check. "I _told_ her never to remove that necklace."

Severus knit his eyebrows together in confusion. "But wasn't it simply a gemstone with protective spells placed on it? I don't think that would have done much in way of protection when the Dark Lord attacked their home."

Ed laughed suddenly, causing some of the students to turn and stare. Ed simply waved their attention back to the front and proceeded to ignore them until they had no other choice but to turn their attention back to their work.

"That wasn't a simple gemstone. The necklaces I gave the two of you held shards from the Philosopher's Stone I wear around my neck."

Ed nearly laughed out loud as Snape's eyes widened to the size of bowling balls. He quickly pulled the Flamel symbol shaped necklace out of his shirt and examined the blood-red stone in the center.

"It isn't enough to make you immortal but it should be enough to protect you from the Killing Curse," Ed concluded softly.

"So if Lily hadn't gotten rid of the stone when she did, she and her family would still be together then," Severus replied bitterly, the thoughts of Lily's chance of survival—if he hadn't called her a mudblood—circling through his mind.

The pair fell into silence, neither of them noticing the thoughts the other was having and neither of them noticed as Harry returned his attention to the potion he was trying—and failing—to make. His hands shook as he blinked away the tears in his eyes. Hermione gave her friend's hand a gentle squeeze as she and Draco share a look. Both knew the regretful thoughts that were flying through their Potion Professor's mind as well as the anger that Harry was feeling towards the man.

LINEBREAK!

Hermione and Draco managed to drag Harry out of the Potions lab without incident. The emerald-eyed teen looked exhausted as he drug his own feet over to the Gryffindor table, his mind far from eating.

"I have to head over to my table," Draco said as he scratched the back of his neck. "See you tonight for class?"

Hermione nodded.

"There you three are."

The trio looked over to see their Alchemy professor heading their way. He looked worse for wear, having dark circles under his eyes. His hair was extremely messy and pulled back into a hurried braid. His clothing looked as if he had slept in them recently, which was strange considering the fact that they has seen him not even thirty minutes ago.

"Is something wrong, Teacher?" Hermione asked as she took in his haggard appearance.

Ed looked surprised for a moment. "No. Why would there be?"

"Considering you look as if you just crawled out from underneath your bed?" Draco countered.

Ed shot him a half-hearted glare. He decided to ignore the comment. "Hermione, Draco, I need you two to run something down to Teacher in Hogsmeade. Harry," he continued, his expression turning dark for a moment, "Albus needs to see you in his office."

Harry frowned. "I hope I am not in trouble."

Ed shook his head. "No but we do need to speak with you about something." His face took on a guarded expression again. "It seems that our _friend_ has found out about our little trick from last week."

Harry suddenly looked alert and quickly began to gather his things. During that time, Ed turned to look at his other two students and handed Hermione a neatly wrapped up package. "Just take this to Teacher down at the Three Broomsticks. And here is a note excusing you from your classes and allowing you down to Hogsmeade. Do NOT, under any circumstances, unwrap the package. It is a highly unstable chemical and cannot be combined with oxygen. Do you understand?"

The two nodded so fast, they suddenly became bobble heads. Ed grinned before turning and leading Harry towards the Headmaster's office.

LINEBREAK!

"I wonder what it is?" Hermione commented as she looked at the package in her hands.

"Whatever you do, do NOT open it," Draco replied, eyeing the package like it was a bomb, which is could have been. They never knew what to expect with Edward Elric.

Hermione shot her classmate a glare. "I'm not stupid, you know."

Draco turned a very pretty shade of pink before he began to stutter. "I was never implying that. I was just merely saying that. . . well," he trailed off as Hermione began to giggle.

"Calm down," the Gryffindor said with a grin. "I was just messing with you."

Draco sent her a glare in return that would have looked rather frightening if not for the blush that still graced his face. He was about to reply when someone ran straight into the pair. The two Hogwarts students had no time to react as the package Ed had entrusted them with slipped from Hermione's hands and headed straight for the ground. Remembering Ed's warning about the package coming into contact with oxygen, Draco knocked Hermione to the ground and covered her body with his, trying to act like a shield. Both waited anxiously for the package to explore or combust.

"Are you two quite alright?"

Draco lifted his head when he realized that nothing had happened. He looked down and saw that he was literally nose-to-nose with Hermione, who was blushing like mad. He quickly got up and helped his classmate up, his face as red as Hermione's Gryffindor tie.

Hermione cleared her throat awkwardly before turning to see who had just spoken to them. Standing before them was a petite young woman who couldn't have been more than thirty-five. Bright red hair cascaded over her shoulders as she stared at the pair with concerned eyes. In her hand was a very familiar looking package, even though it was barely recognizable. The parchment it had been wrapped in was torn, leaving the crystal substance inside to hang out.

"I really hope I didn't hurt either of you, even though I am not sure why your tackled your friend to ground," she commented, her bright green eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I am so sorry," Hermione apologized. "It's just that. . . Our Teacher told us that package was highly unstable when it came into contact with oxygen. We honestly thought it would explode, hence Draco's reaction."

The pretty red-head tilted her head to the side before turning her attention to the package. She carefully unwrapped it before blinking in surprise. "Either your teacher was playing a prank or they don't know anything about chemicals."

"Huh?" came the reply from the students.

The young woman laughed. "It's rocky candy. I do hope your teacher has a sense of humor."

Draco looked confused as Hermione immediately burst out into laughter.

"What is rock candy?" the Pureblood asked.

Hermione took a few deep breathes to control her breathing. "It's a muggle candy. Oh, I am so going to get back at him for that!"

Draco blinked. "So this was his idea of a practical joke?" Upon seeing Hermione nod, he quickly added, "the little bastard."

Hermione began to laugh again as the red-headed woman tried to look serious but was failing miserably. "Isn't that a little disrespectful?"

Draco waved her off in typical Pureblood fashion. "He deserves it for half of the things he puts us through."

The lady laughed wholeheartedly. "Well, why don't you let me take the two of you to Honeydukes to replace this candy? It's the least I can to after making you drop it."

"We don't want to be a bother," Hermione countered but was waved off.

"It's no bother. I was actually heading that way to meet with my husband. After that, the two of you can join us at the Three Broomsticks for a drink if you want."

Hermione looked over at Draco who shrugged in respond. The Gryffindor turned her attention back to the older woman. "Sure, why not."

The woman grinned. "Excellent. I'm Lily, by the way."

"I'm Hermione and this is Draco," Hermione introduced as she shook Lily's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Lily's emerald green eyes sparked in a way that was extremely familiar to Hermione but she couldn't put her finger on where she had seen them before. "It's nice to meet the both of you."

LINEBREAK!

Ed rubbed his tired eyes as he sat across from Albus Dumbledore in the Headmaster's office. Harry, who was still recovering from an attack from his scar, looked extremely pale but determined. Roy was standing off to the side, deep in thought. Envy has taken his usual place on Ed's shoulder.

"So now he knows for sure," Harry said in a hoarse voice. His scar had begun to hurt just as he and Ed entered Dumbledore's office. It had started out small then grew into a blinding pain in less than a minute. At one point, Harry had actually passed out from the pain.

"Are you sure you don't want to go see Poppy?" Ed asked as he looked at Lily's son, the only thing he had left to remember her by.

Harry gave the Alchemist a tired smile. "I'm sure. If I go see Poppy, we will end up wasting time when we could be talking about our next move in preventing Voldemort from getting you."

Ed pulled a face but didn't comment.

Roy suddenly spoke up. "Why is my double so obsessed with Ed?"

The other four occupants of the room looked up and stared at Roy, looks of surprise and confusion on all of their faces. "What?" the Flame Alchemist questioned, feeling a little uneasy.

Albus was the first to speak after several moments of silence. "I actually hadn't given the subject much thought."

"That _is_ a good question," Envy commented from his place on Ed's shoulder. He turned to look at Dumbledore. "Why is he obsessed?"

Everyone stared at the aged wizard, waiting patiently for an answer.

Albus Dumbledore sighed heavily. "To be honest, I don't know the exact reason why Tom suddenly became obsessed with Ed."

The group that had been watching the Headmaster on bated breath visible deflated at the revelation.

Albus chuckled. "However, I do know that there was a point in Tom's life where his personality suddenly changed. I believe it was around the summer after his fourth year. He had requested permission from Headmaster Dippet to leave a couple of days early, which was rather unusual, considering the fact that Tom hated returning to the orphanage he lived in." Dumbledore paused for a moment in thought. "Before that summer, Tom's personality was almost identical to Roy's," he said as he gestured to the Flame Alchemist. "Tom was very driven in his studies, particular along the lines of becoming a Healer. This was, of course, before you met him, Ed."

Ed nodded. "The only thing he was interested in at that time was the Dark Arts."

"And you," Dumbledore responded.

Ed begrudgingly agreed with a huff.

"I don't believe that Tom ever, in his first four years at Hogwarts, was interested in the Dark Arts. He believed that becoming a Healer was in his best interest. I always found it odd, however, that his primary area of study was muggle illnesses, most particularly, muggle cancer."

Envy frowned. "Why cancer?"

"Why, indeed, considering that it is impossible for a wizard or witch to catch cancer. Our magic cores would completely destroy any of the cancerous cells in our bodies, preventing the spreading of cancer. I always thought Tom was just trying to find an answer to an impossible task, something that he was eerily well at doing." Dumbledore blinked for a moment, realizing that he was getting off topic. "When Tom entered his fifth year at Hogwarts, I knew immediately that something had changed. It was then that he developed an unhealthy obsession with the Dark Arts and seemed determined to become the next Dark Lord."

"And it seems as if he has succeeded," Envy deadpanned quietly.

"Is there anyone from the orphanage that you can contact? Maybe someone who has the old records?" Harry asked, speaking for the first time since his attack without a hoarse voice.

Dumbledore shook his head. "The orphanage shut down immediately after Tom's departure and graduation from Hogwarts. I am certain he had something to do with it. I do believe, however, that the building is still standing and all of the records should still be intact."

"Oh!" Harry started suddenly. All eyes fell on him as he turned to look directly at Ed. "I had almost forgot!"

"What's wrong?" Ed asked, clearly worried.

Harry quickly grabbed a bit of parchment and a quill from Dumbledore's desk and drew a quick sketch.

"Have you ever seen this symbol before?" he asked as he held the picture up for the group to see.

Ed took a look at the symbol and almost fell out of his chair in shock. "Where did you see that symbol?"

Harry frowned. "A young woman wearing a blood-red cloth appeared in the corridor last week, right after you went missing. The only thing we could see was her legs, this symbol, and half of her face."

Ed gulped suddenly before looking at the shocked Homunculus in his lap.

"Where was the symbol located?" Envy asked, in a guarded tone.

Harry turned red for a moment before he cleared his throat nervously. "It was right above her-uh. . . chest."

"Shit!" Envy cursed. "How did she survive?"

Ed frowned. "I don't think it is the one from _our_ world. But that doesn't explain how she got to _this_ world."

Dumbledore leaned forward to examine the symbol. "With whom are we speaking of?"

Ed, Envy, and Roy all shared a look before the blonde of the group answered. "One of the Homunculus. Her name is Lust. I guess you could say she is Envy's half-sister."

"How do you make a Homunculi?" Harry asked.

Ed looked Harry straight in the eyes. "Through Human Transmutation."

Harry's eyes widened. "So Homunculi are beings that someone tried to bring back from the dead?"

Ed never got to answer his student's question. All of the occupants of the room jumped when a sharp knock on the door resounded through the room. After a quick "come in" from Dumbledore, the door opened swiftly to reveal a hysterical looking Minerva McGonagall.

"What's wrong, Minerva?" Albus asked as he stood up from his chair.

Before the Head of Gryffindor could response, a loud blast shook the entire castle, causing everyone in the room to fall to the ground. Ed got up as quickly as he could and ran to the window that overlooked Hogwarts' Grounds. The sight that greeted him was one he never thought he would see. Standing calmly on the emerald grounds was one Tom Marvolo Riddle, his blood red eyes searching the castle until they traveled up to Dumbledore's window, meeting Ed's molten gold orbs, which were widened from shock. A smirk played across the Dark Lord's face before the reality of the situation hit Ed hard.

Death Eaters were attacking Hogwarts.


	12. Chapter 12

**Avoid and Evade: Chapter Twelve**

**Author's Notes: Just to clear this up before hand: No, Lily is not Lust. While the idea would have been great to use, I have another idea for our female homunculus. I also want to apologize for how late I am in posting this chapter. School got extremely crazy right before graduation and then work decided to be a pain and make everything worse. I apologize but I am not abandoning this story, even if this chapter is three and a half months overdue. I plan on completing it, even if it takes a while. On with the story!**

Ed felt as if all of the air had been knocked out of his lungs. He couldn't breathe, couldn't speak as his eyes locked with the man that nearly destroyed him. He saw that very familiar smirk spread across his face as Tom Marvolo Riddle raised his wand and promptly shattered the window in front of Ed. Ed jumped back, only to get pulled forward by some unknown, unseen force. Ed let out a squeak (one that he would later deny) and grabbed onto the window, trying to prevent himself from flying out the window.

"ED!"

Ed heard Roy yell his name as the force of Tom's magic yanked him out of the window and down towards Voldemort. Ed closed his eyes, waiting for impact, when he suddenly changed directions. The Fullmetal Alchemist opened his eyes to see the shocked look on Tom's face as he barreled into someone.

"Stay inside the circle!" yelled a feminine voice, just before the ground beneath him and his human cushion closed up around them.

Ed heard a sigh of relief before he turned and stared into the eyes of one Hermione Jean Granger. Her hair was even bushier, no doubt due to the running she had done getting from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. Draco was kneeling on the ground beside her, looking just as winded.

"Are you okay, Teacher?" Draco asked; his voice full of concern.

Ed managed a shaky nod before he pushed himself over, landing on his back. "I'll be fine. Now tell me which of you dunderheaded did _this_," he said as he gestured to the dome-shaped earth above their heads.

"What is with Hogwarts' teachers, now-a-days? For shame, insulting their students," teased an unfamiliar male voice that was full of laughter.

"James!" the feminine voice from before, chide.

Ed turned his head and quickly sat up from shock. Sitting not even three feet away from him was little Lily Evans, all grown up to be a very beautiful woman. She pretty features were scrunched up into a scolding frown, which was directed at the man who looked _just like Harry_.

"What. The. Fuck?" was all Ed could manage.

Lily turned to look at her former Teacher and that was when Ed saw it. The very piece of the Philosopher's Stone that Ed had broken up and given to her in the form of a necklace. Instead of a necklace, the Stone was smaller in form, changed into earrings, which were gently nestled in her ears. Lily suddenly smiled and wrapped her arms around Ed.

"I am so glad we made it in time," she whispered.

At the sound of her voice, Ed began to blink, trying to stop the hot tears that raced down his face. He wrapped his own arms around the young woman he practically watched grow up.

"Teacher?"

Ed turned and calmed himself down as he looked at the confused faces of his current students.

"Do you know each other, Teacher?" Hermione asked.

Ed let out a shaky laugh. "I thought you prided yourself on being the smartest witch of your age, Hermione. Do you not know who this is?" Both Pureblood and Muggleborn alike shook their heads.

James grinned from his spot on the ground. "Then allow me to introduce myself." James held out his hand, which Hermione took without much thought. "Hi. My name is James Potter and this is my wife, Lily Potter."

To say the students were shocked was an understatement. Draco's mouth fell open and he sat there for a few moments, doing a very good impression of a fish. Hermione, on the other hand, was more vocal in her observation.

"You're Harry's parents?!"

The Potters frowned. James was the first to speak. "How do you know about our son?"

"Well-uh. . . We actually go to school with him," Hermione said, still stunned.

Both of the Potters promptly froze in place. James was the first to speak. "That's not possible," he whispered in a barely controlled voice.

"Of course it is," Draco said. "We are talking about the same Harry, right? Harry James Potter, born July 31, 1980, messy black hair and bright emerald green eyes? Basically the carbon copy of you but with her," he pointed to Lily, "eyes."

"But. . . " Lily began. "He told us Harry _died_. Why would he lie?"

Ed frowned, knowing that the entire wizarding world knew about Harry and his survival that Halloween night. "Who told you?"

"The Minister of Magic," Lily answered. "Even though he has already retired. Who is the Minister know?"

"Cornilus Fudge," Hermione answered in a tight voice. Her disapproval of the current head of the Wizarding World was apparent in her voice.

"What did the former Minister say to you exactly?"

Before either of the Potters could answer, something heavy slammed into the earth dome they were hiding in. Ed was the first to reach, using Alchemy to knock away any pieces of fallen debris that could have possibly hurt someone. He quickly created a spear and turned. . .

Only to come face to face with a shocked looking Izumi Curtis.

Ed visible deflated before he scanned the area for any possible danger. His eyes returned to the form of his former Teacher.

"Where are they?" Ed asked, his guard still up.

"They all disappeared, even Mustang's double," Izumi answered as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Ed frowned. "Then who hit the dome?"

"Niisan!"

Ed suddenly got an armful of his little brother as the other male tackled him to the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" Al said as he waved his arms in a panicked manner. "I didn't mean to hit the dome with that much force! I only meant to knock on it, like you would knock on a door or something!"

Ed sat there, slightly bewildered. It had been half a century since he had seen his brother act as upset as he currently was. That thought alone brought tears to his eyes and Ed found himself simply wrapping his dear brother into a hug. The young sibling didn't comment, knowing immediately what his brother was thinking. Alphonse returned the hug gently, not wanting to hurt his brother.

"Love you, Niisan," Al whispered so that no one could hear.

Ed smiled. "Love you too, Al. And don't worry about the dome. I had enough time to clear away any danger."

"I know Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy but I am unfamiliar with the other two," Izumi commented as she nodded her head towards the married couple.

Ed stood up and helped his brother to his feet. "The red-head is a former student of mine, Lily Potter nee Evans. The man over there is her husband, James Potter."

Izumi raised an eyebrow. "Potter? Isn't that Harry's last name?"

At the mention of her son, tears began to welt up in Lily's eyes before she turned and began to look around the grounds.

"He is probably still up in Dumbledore's office," Ed commented, noticing exactly who Lily was looking for. "I doubt Albus would let him out of the castle, at least for a while."

Lily nodded. "Can we go see him?" she asked in a meek voice.

Ed snorted. "Of course you can. He is your son, after all."

"Wait."

Ed turned and saw Izumi eyeing the pair suspiciously. "How do we even know if it is actually them and not some imposters?"

The Potters looked surprised for a moment. Ed huffed, knowing very well how suspicious Teacher could be. "You think I haven't already checked? There are only two people besides Hermione, Harry, Draco, and Luna that I have taught Alchemy. One is Severus Snape and the other is Lily Evans."

Izumi stared Ed in the eyes for a moment before nodding. "If you say it is them, then it is them."

Ed grinned and gave Izumi a thumbs-up.

"This is getting really weird," Draco said as he continued to stare at the two Potters.

Ed simply grinned.

LINEBREAK!

Roy ran down the stone stairs as fast as his feet would carry him. As soon as Ed flew through the window, Roy took off at high speed, desperate to get to the blonde Alchemist before he was kidnapped for the second time. In his haste, Roy ran straight into the person he was trying to get to. The pair ended up in a heap on the floor before Roy even realized what happened.

"What the _hell_, Roy?" Ed complained as he rubbed his left elbow.

Roy actually collapsed in relief on the ground next to Ed. He didn't realize how fast his heart was beating until that moment.

"Care to get off my legs, bastard?" Ed teased with a grin.

Roy quickly got to his feet before pulling Ed to his chest. Ed chuckled softly as he returned the embrace.

"I'm fine, Roy," Ed whispered. The pair stayed like that for a moment before Ed pulled back. "Now, is Harry still in Albus' office?"

Roy blinked. "I guess so. I ran out of the room so fast, I didn't have time to comprehend anything else."

Ed nodded before looking around. "Where's Envy?"

"A little help here?"

Ed looked up, blinked in surprise, and fell to the floor laughing his ass off. Hanging from the rafter was a very pissed off looking Envy in his usual fox form. The fox was tied up in a bright pink ribbon and someone even went as far as to tie an identically pink ribbon in the fox's fur.

"What happened to you?" Ed asked as he tried to calm his laughter but was failing miserably.

"Lust, that's what happened," Envy grumbled angrily. "The little sneak appeared out of nowhere and thought it would be a good idea to tie me up here."

Ed finally calmed down enough to help his furry comrade out of his bright pink prison. Envy shook his fur, trying to get rid of the feeling of being tied up and rid himself of the cursed bow that was on top of his head. Usually, he was the one tying people up, not the other way around. It was only then that he noticed the petite red-head standing next to Ed.

"Well, if it isn't little Lily Evans, all grown up and clearly NOT dead," Envy deadpanned before looking to Ed. "How are you going to explain this one, pipsqueak?"

Ed shot the homunculus a glare. "We were actually heading up to Albus's office when I, literally, ran into Roy. Lily and her husband were going to explain things to us there. Now," Ed said as he rubbed his hands together "let's figure out how to get you down."

NEWLUST!WHOISSHE?!

Ed slumped bodily into the comfortable plush chair that was located behind his desk. The past three days seemed to have passed at both a slow and fast rate. After the group had detached a disgruntled Envy from his bright pink prison, they had made their way to the headmaster's office, where they then surprised not only Dumbledore and Harry but also Sirius Black. One heartfelt and happy reunion passed before another showed up in the form of Severus Snape. While Ed was more than pleased to see his two students back on speaking terms, he was so exhausted that it seemed to seep into his bones.

Classes had been cancelled due to the Death Eater attack. Luckily, the only causalities had been on the Death Eater's side of the battle. Multiple arrests had been made and Draco had been pleased(?) to learn that his father had not been among those arrested.

As soon as the reunions were done, Dumbledore immediately sent for the Minster who verified the identities of the Potters and revealed that he (Cornelius Fudge) had not been informed about the events that lead the Wizarding World to believe that the Potter family had died that Halloween night. Lily, always the brilliant one, had figured out what the stone was in the necklace she had been given and removed it immediately, replacing it with an ordinary red rhinestone. She enlisted the help of her father, who had been working as a jeweler at the time, to change the stone into a pair of earrings.

A small bit of the stone was left over and, when Lily announced her engagement to James to her family, she secretly asked her father to make their wedding bands and had him place the rest of the Philosopher's Stone in James' ring, something that he never took off. It was what saved him that night Voldemort attacked their family. What still remained a mystery, however, was how little Harry Potter survived the entire event. Albus Dumbledore had originally hypothesized that Lily's sacrifice and death had saved her son but, due to the recent events, the Leader of the Light wasn't so sure anymore.

Another task that Dumbledore immediately began working on was that of Tom Marvolo Riddle's mysterious change in personality. The headmaster began to question some of the teachers that used to work at Hogwarts during that time, either by Owl or through the Floo network. It was on one of the days where Dumbledore was locked in his office that Roy and Ed found some down time to just sit and enjoy each other's company.

"That was not how I expected the week to go," Roy commented as he sat a steaming mug of coffee in front of the blonde alchemist.

"You and me both," Ed grumbled as he took a long sip of his coffee.

The pair sat quietly for a moment, both simply content with being in the other's presence. Ed let his mind wander, his thoughts plagued with _what if_s. What if Hermione hadn't been there to change the direction of the summoning spell he had been under? What if Lily hadn't been there to shield him after he collided with Draco? What if he had never wound up in this world in the first place?

"You're moping," Roy commented, watching the younger alchemist as his face grew more and more haunted with unpleasant thoughts. "You should stop worrying. You'll get gray hair."

Ed shot his boyfriend a glare for his hilarious observation only to get a teasing grin in return. Roy's grin slid into a more melancholy smile. "What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly.

Ed shrugged, trying to throw the question off. When Roy simply stared at him, awaiting an answer, he sighed heavily. "Just the biggest _what if_ questions that my life is centered around."

Roy frowned. "That's probably not healthy."

Ed snorted at his brilliant observation. "I wonder why?" he muttered sarcastically.

Roy gave the blonde a look that clearly said he was not amused.

Ed sighed slowly through his nose. "I just wish we could go back to the way things could have been. You know, if we had never ended up in this world."

"You can't dwell on the past. What has happened, happened for a reason," Roy said, clearly as tired as Ed felt. "What we can dwell on, however, is how this whole thing started."

Ed wrinkled his nose slightly. "You're talking about Tom's obsession, aren't you?"

Roy nodded. "How did the two of you meet?"

Ed laced his fingers together, his eyes and thoughts clearly years away. "It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I was the new transfer students with a mysterious past while Tom was Head Boy at the time, so naturally the job of showing the new student around fell to him. I remember staring at him for a good three minutes before he politely got my attention. It was shocking how much the similarities between the two of you were, even with the age difference." Ed paused, his brow drawing together tightly. "I don't remember anything I did that could have triggered an obsession. I acted like I normally would have, even though I wasn't sure how to act in this new world where magic is the primary source of power."

"Would Envy have seen anything?" Roy asked, hoping for a clue.

Ed shook his head. "I didn't meet up with Envy until two years after I landed in this world. Of course, I was in so much pain at the time that I can barely remember what happened."

As soon as the words left Ed's mouth, he immediately covered his lips with his hands, wishing he could take them back. Roy's eyes widened in such a way that would have been comical, if not for the seriousness of the situation.

"What?" Roy whispered hoarsely.

"Please pretend you didn't hear that," Ed whispered shakily.

"I will do no such thing," Roy retorted, a fire burning in his eyes. "Why were you in pain? Did that bastard do something to hurt you?"

_More than you will ever know_ Ed thought but replied with: "I had an infection that was seeping into my bloodstream."

"From what?!"

Ed scoffed, wanting more than anything to escape the subject. "I broke my leg and the infection set up between the two halves. It doesn't matter anyways. You just said not to dwell on the past," Ed countered, twisting Roy's words in order to force him to drop the subject.

Roy made a noise in the back of his throat that could almost pass for a growl. "You know that isn't what I meant when I said that."

"I just don't know why you are making such a big deal out of this. Getting injured was my own fault anyways," Ed half-lied, hoping Roy wouldn't call him out on it and just drop the subject.

Fortunately for Ed and unfortunately for Roy, their conversation was cut short by a knock on the door. The pair turned to see the youngest Elric brother pop his head in, Envy running across the room and up to Ed's shoulder in fox form. "Mr. Dumbledore said that he needed to see everyone involved as soon as possible." Al paused, taking in the pissed off look on Roy's face and the slightly hysteric look on his brother's. "Is everything alright?" he asked, clearly concerned.

Ed quickly recovered, hiding his fear and worry behind a carefree grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?" Ed quickly stood up and put as much distance between himself and Roy as possible without being too obvious. He stopped at the door and looked back at Roy. "You coming, Colonel Bastard?"

Roy sighed heavily, not having it in himself to stay mad at Ed long. Al gave Roy a worried look who wordlessly conveyed that he would explain the matter later as the three of them headed, once again, to the Headmaster's office.

WHYISVOLDEMORTOBSESSED?!

Once everyone involved in the process of finding out Voldemort's obsession with Ed had entered the office, Dumbledore greeted everyone with a smile and a chair.

"This had better be good, Santa Clause," Envy hissed, causing the room to dissolve into fits of snickers and giggles at the nickname.

Dumbledore simply chuckled. "It is." He paused for dramatic effect. "I believe that I have found out the reason for Tom's obsession with Edward," Dumbledore announced as he gestured to the Fullmetal Alchemist.

The surprise in the room was almost tangible. "That was fast," James whispered in awe. "What teacher did you get the information from?"

Dumbledore gave the group a thin smile. "I actually found my answer in the very last place I thought to look: Wool's Orphanage."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't that the orphanage that Tom grew up in?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I had originally thought the building had been demolished to make way for office buildings. It turns out, however, that the 'office buildings' are in fact an illusion that Tom created. I gathered what information I could before he was alerted of my presence. I managed to get ahold of some memories from the muggle orphans at Wool's. I didn't expect to find the answer so quickly and in the most unlikely way either."

"What did you find?" Ed asked quietly.

Dumbledore smiled before reaching into one of the many pockets his robe held. From one of the folds, he produced a small phial of white mist-like liquid: a memory.

"This is a memory from one of the children at the orphanage. The young girl was five at the time of this memory. From what I gather, Tom was around thirteen at the time; the year being 1939." With a flick of his wrist, Dumbledore tossed the liquid-mist onto the wall, creating a projection of the memory rather than using a Pensive. The number of people in the room would not have fit into the small bowl.

Ed watched in fascination as a little girl of five, with golden blonde hair and sparkling green eyes giggled her way down the dark, stone halls of Wool's Orphanage. The girl skipped and laughed, occasionally jumping onto one foot as she played a little game with the people from her imagination. She would stop suddenly, looking around in curiosity at the dark walls before she would giggle, breaking the tense mood around her. Ed found himself smiling as the little girl made her way passed room twenty to twenty-two, every so often stopping and looking into the empty rooms. Ed really hoped nothing bad would happen to this child that was so full of life and energy. Unfortunately, Ed knew all too well what happened to the people that crossed Voldemort's path.

The little girl finally came to a stop across the hall from Room 27. Giggling lightly to herself, she pressed her little ear up to the door and grinned when she could make out the faintest of whispers on the other side of the wood. She waited a moment before throwing the door open.

"I caught you!" she yelled suddenly, causing the people watching the memory to jump in surprise.

The scene she walked into was one that Ed hadn't expected. The Tome Riddle he knew would have instantly jumped up, angry written clearly on his face and chased the little girl out of the room with a bunch of curses. Instead, lying on the bed was a very relaxed, slightly nervous looking Tom Riddle. The way he was relaxing and the leisurely smile that painted his lips seemed to channel more of the Roy Mustang that Ed had come to love. The relaxed stance and carefree smile was almost a punch in the stomach to Ed. When Dumbledore first said that Tom had changed, Ed had expected a slight yet noticeable change. What he hadn't expected was the giant change that changed Tom Riddle from a carefree child to a manic in less than a two year period.

"Hey Rosie-Posie," Tom commented lightly, a slight shake in his voice that gave away something being amiss. The reaction from the rest of the views was almost identical to Ed's , especially the ones who knew Roy the best. "What are you doing in my room?"

The little girl, Rosie-Posie, cocked her hips to the side and places her tiny fists on them in a very Molly Weasley fashion. Ginny actually laughed outright (Ron was banned from the meetings by Envy because the Homonculi was _still_ holding a grudge against the younger Weasely male). The little girl was absolutely adorable, her face scrunched up into serious concentration as she slowly tapped her right foot.

"Don't you try and pull that one on me, Thomas Riddle," Rosie chides childishly, her child-like voice making the situation out to be a comedy.

Tom smiled innocently. "Whatever do you mean, little Rose?"

"First off," Rosie said as she held up a single finger, "this isn't your room. Your room number in 27. This is Room 26. Second," her middle finger joined the first "you know boys are not supposed to be in girl's rooms so close to curfew."

Poor Tom looked as if someone had found his stash of candy and kicked his favorite puppy (if he had one). He stuttered, trying to come up with an explanation to cover his tracks. A stuttering Tom Riddle wasn't something Ed thought he would ever see. The young man was normally calm and collected, always knowing exactly what words to say and when to say them. At least Ed finally had something to blackmail the Dark Lord with.

"And third," Rosie continued "this is my sister's room. I think I know where my sister sleeps."

Tome groaned as he let his head fall back onto the gray pillow at the head of the bed. The lump on the bed that the group hadn't noticed before began to move with laughter.

"I told you she would find out," a bell-like voice chimed from underneath the cover. "I knew you should have been the one to hide instead of me."

Tom sighed heavily. "At least it wasn't Mrs. Cole," he remarked as he pulled part of the cover up.

The first thing that could be seen of Rosie's sister was the olive-toned arm that draped itself across Tom's chest. As soon as the cover was pulled away, all of the breath in Ed's lungs disappeared. The young woman was at least thirteen, with golden blonde hair to match that of her sister's. Her hair was pulled back into a simple braid with her golden blonde bangs framing an angelic face. A sweet smile pulled at red lips as her perfectly straight teeth became visible with the smile, lightly up her face in an ethereal way. She was dressed in a simple red sundress that flattered her looks. Amber gold eyes stared at her little sister, those eyes looking almost like liquid gold. In those eyes was a look that everyone had seen Ed give his younger brother; a look of complete and utter devotion to a sibling.

Ed finally remembered to breathe as he realized he was staring into a face identical to his own.

**Let me go ahead and apologize if my math and timeline are slightly wacky. I tried my best to match up the events with J.K. Rowling's timeline for Tom Riddle. Riddle was born on December 31, 1926, and entered his first year at Hogwarts when he was eleven, which would have been in 1937. I guessed that he would have turned thirteen in his second year. The memory would have taken place in between his second and third year, assuming my math is correct.**

**Btw, who actually saw that coming? Again, if you read the Author's Note in Chapter Eleven, you will remember that this is not the original idea that I had in mind. However, during my writing hiatus, before I realized that this story had been deleted, I imagined this scene while I was trying to think up ideas. More about the character will be explained later on, probably as soon as next chapter. I'm thinking about writing a chapter with Voldemort as the center character. What do you think?**

**Now, before anyone points it out, I know that Ed, in episode 49-50 or so, merged momentarily with his doppelganger and accidently killed him. However, since this is a fanfiction and I can change some events to fit my story, that scene didn't happen. Instead, Al sacrificed himself to bring his brother back form near death, still causing Ed to have to cross the Gate in order to bring his brother back.**

**Since I made you guys wait three and a half months, this chapter is slightly longer than the rest. You haven't seen the rest of Rosie and her older sister. As always, please read and review. Reviews will be used to feed the plot bunnies. All flames will be used to fuel my passion for this story and will most likely be laughed at.**

**Word Count: 4759 (Eleven Pages in Microsoft Word)**

**Cheerio,**

**KleopatraAlexandra **


	13. Chapter 13

**Avoid and Evade: Chapter Thirteen**

_Fifteen year old Tom Marvolo Riddle wasn't really sure what was causing him to return to Wool's Orphanage on the morning of June 13, 1941. He still had a week of exams to take and he normally wasn't one to miss them for nothing more than a nagging feeling. His feet his the ground with resounding stomps as he briskly made his way through the familiar halls of the orphanage. Just as he was about to reach his room, he noticed something that sent his heart plummeting into his stomach._

_Standing in front of Room 26 was seven year old Rosemary Richards, her calico cat doll hanging in her crossed arms. It wasn't uncommon to see the cat called Al in her arms but the thing that almost sent Tom to his knees was the outfit the seven year old was wearing. Rosie's 'normal' attire consisted of some of this old school robes, combined with the sun dresses that Evelyn had grown out of but were still too big for her younger sister. Instead of the bright colors that she usually wore, Rosemary was dressed in a black church dress with white stockings and black shoes._

"_Rosie?" Tom asked, his voice no more than a whisper. "What are you wearing?"_

_The seven year old looked over and her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree._

"_Tom!" she cried cheerfully as she ran over and hugged her sister's boyfriend around the middle. "Do you like my dress?" she asked innocently as she twirled. "Mrs. Cole gave it to me. She said that I had to wear it __**today**__, not tomorrow or the next day." She stopped her twirling and frowned, something that looked out of place on her young, lively face. "But she never told me why. I asked Sister but she wouldn't say either. She just stared crying." Rosie paused again, this time to wipe away some unshed tears that had gather on her lashes. "That's all Sister seems to be doing lately is crying."_

_Tom swallowed, forcing the thick, dry knot that had formed in his throat down, allowing him to speak. "Why has Evelyn been crying, Rosie?"_

"_I don't know," she answered honestly. "She went to the doctors after you went back to school in January. Even since then, she has been crying more and more. Now, she won't even leave her room. I thought doctors were supposed to help people get better, not make them worse."_

_Tom reached out and gently placed his hands on Rosemary's shoulders. "What do you mean 'make them worse'?" he asked, a feeling of dread welding up in his stomach. "Is Evelyn sick?"_

_Rosie nodded. "From what I head Sister and Mrs. Cole talking about, that weird think came back. You know, the sauncer."_

_Tom frowned, his eyebrows coming together in confusion. "The sauncer?"_

"_Yea, that thing that Sister had before that you said wouldn't come back, like, ever again," Rosie answered with a child-like innocence._

_Tom looked even more confused as he tried to process what the little girl was talking about. A look of sheer horror slowly flooded his face as the seriousness of the situation hit him hard._

"_The cancer came back?" Tom whispered in disbelief._

"_Uh-huh," Rosie replied as she hugged Al closer to her. "Mrs. Cole is in her room with the weird man from the church. They said that I could see Sister one last time before she leaves." A frown overtook her features again. "But where is she going, Tom? Sister always said that she wouldn't go anywhere without me or you."_

_It was at this point that Tom stopped listening. He sat on his hatches for a moments before he slug Evelyn's door open, causing the door knob to smack into the wall with enough force to leave a hole in the wall._

_Mrs. Cole looked over, ready to reprimand the person that caused the damage and noise but came up short when she realized who was standing in the doorway. She regarded Tom with a sad expression before motioning for the priest to follow her._

"_Let's leave them alone," she commented quietly, a contrast to her usual yelling and shouting._

_Tom wasn't paying the pair the slightest of attention. His entire focus was on the girl laying on the gray sheets. How much she had changed since the last time her had seen her! Even though it had only been right around five months, Evelyn looked almost like a different person. Her waist-length hair, which was pulled over her shoulder in a braid, wasn't the color of gold that he had come to love. Instead, it looked like wilted straw that had been left out in the sun to bleach unnaturally. Her normally olive parlor was pasty white with the smallest hint of gray underneath. The gray sheets she was laying on only saw fit to make her even paler._

_The thing that literally broke Tom was her eyes. Gone were the fiery golden hues that he had fallen in love with. Her eyes looked worse than her hair, so devoid of life and energy even as she stared blankly at the wall. Tom froze in his place as those eyes turned to rest on him. Instantaneously, some of the fire he love reappeared. Her chapped, bloodless lips pulled into what should have been a smile but could only be seen as a grimace._

"_Hello Tom," she greeted in a nonchalant manner, her voice hoarse from nights of nonstop coughing fits and vomiting sessions._

"_Evelyn," Tom breathed, still standing in the doorway. _

_Evelyn chuckled before motioning him forward. Her hand immediately fell back to the sheets. The simple gesture had drained a lot out of her. "Don't just stand there, silly. Come here."_

_Tom didn't even remember crossing the room. One minute, he was in the doorway, staring into the face of his dying love. The next, he was sitting on the ground, his hand closed around her ice-cold finger._

"_I was hoping to see you before I left," she whispered quietly as she laced her fingers through his. "I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye."_

"_Don't say that," Tom hissed, his eyes burning for reasons he couldn't explain. "You can always get better." He cut her off as she opened her mouth to reply. "Did you forget the promise we made?"_

_Evelyn paused before smiling. "'If any of us leave, we are leaving together'," she recited the words from so long ago._

"_Exactly. The only time any of us are leaving is when we leave as a family," Tom replied, not even realizing that tears were streaming down his face. "As soon as I become a healer, I will get rid of the cancer once and for all. Then we can give Rosie the best home and family that she could ever dream of."_

_Evelyn smiled again, looking more wistful than joyful. She reached out and laid her hand on Tom's cheek. "Promise me that you will take care of her? I always thought that I would be the one to see her grow up and have children." She came up short as tears of her own began to pore down her face. "Promise me she will never have to go to another orphanage." The tears were falling freely now, as Evelyn made her last wish._

_Tom wasn't even aware of the tightness in his chest, nor the burning of his throat as he stared into Evelyn's eyes. He didn't even notice that his friend was slowly sinking deeper into the worn out pillows and uncomfortable mattress. He wasn't even aware that Mrs. Cole, Rosie, and the priest had returned. The only thing that mattered in his eyes was the young woman lying in front of him._

"_I promise," he whispered. "I love you," he added, not knowing that it would be his first and last time ever relaying those words. _

"_I love you too," Evelyn whispered, her eyes moving to rest on her sister, who was laying her head on the edge of Evelyn's bed. _

_Evelyn inhaled sharply and exhaled slowly. Tom waited for her to take another breathe but after a minute of waiting, the whole situation hit him like a train. His vision blurred as the orphanage witnessed the most heart wrenching sound it had ever heard. It was at that point that Tom Marvolo Riddle changed from the carefree boy to the young man that would soon become the new Dark Lord._

_Evelyn Richards passed away from cancer on Friday June 13__th__, 1941 at two thirty-two in the afternoon. She left behind a young sister and a young man whose heart still, to this day, remains in pieces._

Lord Voldemort started, waking himself from his own unplanned nap. He looked around, noting that he was in his office, at his desk and not in that fated room, fifty years ago. He took a shaky breath as he looked at the picture hanging above the fireplace.

It was Evelyn at her finest, dressed in a beautiful Victorian gown of crimson and cream. Her hair was tumbling in rings and curls over her shoulders, one hand resting in her lap, the other on the shoulder of her young sister. Her hair was a luscious golden blonde while her eyes burned with a hidden fire that demanded attention. Rosemary was the image of child-like innocence, with her own ivory Victorian style dress and lace headband. Her dimples were clearly visible as her emerald green eyes shown with a bright light that could brighten anyone's day.

Voldemort sighed heavily. Why, _why_ did it have to be _that_ memory? Of all the things that he could have dreamed about, _why_ did it have to be the most painful memory of his life? He had keep his promise to Evelyn; he watched as Rosemary grew older and fell in love with a craftsman. He was there for her wedding, playing the part of the best man while the position for maid of honor was left empty; a reminder of the sister the bride had lost. Even though Tom hadn't been there when Rosemary had her children, he had visited and showered the two with gifts and trinkets, trying to find some way to erase the whole in his heart.

Some believed that Lord Voldemort couldn't love or that he was far too inhuman to associate himself with human emotions. The truth of the matter was that he was indeed human; almost _too_ human. He had fallen so hard after Evelyn died; so hard in fact that he had completely strayed away from the years of work and research he had put into becoming a Healer. It didn't matter after that. The point of the research had been to find a way to cure _Evelyn_, not some random person whose face of life he didn't know. And the further he fell, the darker he became. Ultimately, Evelyn's death was what triggered his spiral into the Dark Arts and fueled his hatred for muggles and their so-called technology. What was the point of doctors if their patients just ended up dying in the long run? The only muggle that Tom vowed to never hurt was the innocent little girl that he watched grow up before his eyes. But even Rosemary couldn't fill the void in his heart.

Edward unknowingly help to ease that void a little. Everything about the young man reminded Tom of his Evelyn. Any why shouldn't he? If he took into account of the things Edward had explained to him, of the idea that each person had a doppelganger in another world, didn't that mean that Edward and Evelyn were in fact the exact same person? Save their genders, of course. The way they walked, the way they talked; all of it was nearly a carbon copy of the other. They had the same outrageous mannerisms and the same odd anger at being called short. They even had the same far off look whenever they thought about the ones they loved.

Lord Voldemort stood quietly and soundlessly made his way over to the chess board that he was constantly messing with. The only piece standing on the board was the Queen, standing tall and proud above the see of fallen black marble. Voldemort's lip twitched as he took in the irony of the situation. He, the _Dark_ Lord, used the White Queen as his main point of movement across the chess board.

Reclaiming the seat in front of the chess board, the Dark Lord began to plan his next move. Unfortunately, since his little attack on Hogwarts caused such a commotion, Voldemort knew her would not be able to return to the school. Security would indeed be tightened and Tom could see his opportunities disappearing fast. He needed someone on the inside to help him with his quest to get Edward back to his side. He just needed to play his cards right. The thought brought Tom back full circle. Tom knew that the things he had done to Edward, the things that he would continue to do, were not things to be forgiven. He had manipulated the young man, tricked him, and played mind games with him, all in hopes that he would be able to keep him at his side.

Tom snorted suddenly. He wasn't a fool. He knew that the things he did, the sins he had committed ultimately pushed the alchemist away from him. His actions had almost killed Evelyn's double. But Tom wasn't one to regret things and Lord Voldemort did not like to admit his faults. After all, his sins and crimes were etched into the cold basement floor of Wool's Orphanage.

"What in the hell?" Roy asked as his eyes were glued on the female figure in the frozen image.

Dumbledore had paused the image, allowing the group a very good look at the young woman who was laying across the young Tom Riddle. As the group stared at the young woman, they couldn't help but wonder if Roy's question had summed the entire situation up.

"Her name is Evelyn Richards," Dumbledore began as he sat down once again at his desk. "At the time of this memory, she was thirteen years old. She and her sister were orphaned after their mother passed away from cancer. Their father didn't want them and, instead of leaving them with another relative, he left them at the steps of the orphanage."

Anger coursed through Ed as he realized just how similar his story was to that of his female doppelgangers. Both of their mothers had passed away from an illness and both of their fathers had abandoned them. "What happened to her?" Ed questioned as he cut off his own musing before it became too depressing.

Dumbledore suddenly looked years older than he actually was. "She died of the same cancer that claimed her mother. At least that is what the doctor said." Dumbledore paused for a moment. "She died June 13, 1941. She was fifteen years old."

"What are you hiding?" Izumi asked, having been silent the entire meeting.

Dumbledore hesitated for a moment. "For some reason, on that same day, Tom left school to return to Wool's Orphanage, a full week before exams were to take place. I found it odd because Tom wasn't one to miss his exams since he held his education to such a high standards."

"You think he had something to do with her death?" Envy asked skeptically.

"No, I do not," Dumbledore answered immediately. "I do believe, however, that Tom knew on some unconscious level that Evelyn was about to pass away. When he was leaving, I asked Tom the reason for his sudden departure. He replied that he had a feeling he needed to go back to the orphanage." Dumbledore paused to wipe away some tears that had gather in his beard. "I found out why the start of the next school year."

"So you think that Ms. Richards and Mr. Riddle shared some sort of connect?" Al asked quietly. Ed's lip twitched. Only Al could be polite when talking about a Dark Lord and mass murderer.

"I do believe that they did," Dumbledore replied honestly.

"So, what do we do next?" Ed asked as the room was filled with an awkward silence.

"We need to make sure someone is with you at all times," Roy said automatically, receiving a glare for his efforts.

"No shit, Sherlock," Ed responded sarcastically. "I meant about the information he just learned about."

Roy had the decency to look sheepish. Everyone laughed at Ed's blunt answer and use of profanity, breaking the tense atmosphere around them.

"We need to dig deeper," Dumbledore smiled. "I will continue to look for more information about Rosemary Richards. We may be able to track her down."

"If we can get to the source, we can solve the problem," Lily chimed as she leaned against her husband.

"Hopefully," the aging Headmaster replied. "I believe that is all that I have for this meeting. I will let you know when more information arrives."

"Wool's Orphanage was in London, correct?" Hermione asked quickly. "My parents work in London. Maybe I should send them an owl and see if their customers might know something."

"I can ask Mum to look around the muggle village near the Burrow, just in case they moved somewhere else," Ginny piped in, wanting to help the best she could, even though she had already done an amazing job with helping recover Ed.

"And we have a house to find," Lily grinned as she looked at her husband and son. "Our current landlord in France will only let us keep our things in the flat for so long."

"There is a house right down the road from ours in Hogsmeade," Roy suggested, having suddenly remembered the 'For Sale' sign sitting on the front lawn.

Dumbledore smiled as he surveyed the group of people before him. Each one of them had faced their own trials and still made an effort to fight back, even when the odds seemed against them. There would be tough times ahead but Albus was sure that they would come out on top. Everything would be fine.

**I am going to once again apologize for the late update. I have excuses but I am sure you are all tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. I did want to clarify that Rosemary is NOT Alphonse' doppelganger. If you remember from chapter six or seven (it's bad when an author cannot remember her own chapters), Ed commented that he had already met Al's doppelganger. Even though Rosemary (or Rosie for short) is not Al's doppelganger, she still acts as the same driving force for Evelyn as Al does for Ed. Siblings are such an amazing thing.**

**I really hope you guys enjoy this little insight into how the Tom Riddle of my story is thinking. As the story progresses, more will be revealed about his character as well as how he developed into the person he is. I actually had fun writing from Tom/Voldemort's POV because it allowed me to think about what exactly it is he is going though and why he does what he does. I know that in HP!canon, the wonderful J.K. Rowling stated that the reason Voldemort cannot love is because he is the product of a love potion. While that fact alone is fascinating, I believe that everyone is capable of love. Some just have an easier time showing it while others have forgotten how to use those feelings and wind up hurting the ones they want close to them. Such as it is in Tom's case.**

**A little FYI, you know your are a Harry Potter fan when you go to write 'serious' and write 'sirius' instead. You will not believe how many times I have done just that. **

**On another note, can anyone spot the foreshadowing that I mentioned in chapter six? Here is a little hint: they reappear in this chapter.**

**Until next time!**

**Word Count: 3424**

**-KleopatraAlexandra **


	14. Chapter 14

**Avoid and Evade: Chapter Fourteen**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter. They belong to the amazing writers that created them. I do, however, own this plot line and the twists that are soon to come. I also forgot to put this disclaimer in the last ten or so chapters. Oops. So sorry.**

The next couple of months went by without much incident. Ever since his back-to-back attempt at kidnapping Ed, Voldemort seemed to have decided to ay low. It was in those same months that the Potter family began to purchase the hose right down the road from Roy and Al's place. Of course, the actual purchasing of the house came with months of paperwork and financial involvement that kept Harry's parents at Gringotts for hours on end. It was on one particular morning in mid-December that Dumbledore called the group together again for another meeting. Even though the aging Headmaster had found the first memory with ease, obtaining more seemed to be nearly impossible since Voldemort had caught wind of Dumbledore's visit to Wool's Orphanage.

"My parents haven't found anything," Hermione relayed at the meeting. "They don't have any customers with the last name of Richards."

"Mum couldn't find anything either," Ginny commented before turning to Harry. "Where are your parents?"

Harry grinned stupidly, like he always did when his parents were mentioned or present. "They have some more paperwork to fill out at the bank. Everything is almost done. We may be able to move into the house before Christmas."

"So, what did you find, Santa Claus?" Envy asked, causing the group to snicker at the nickname, given how close it was to the holidays.

Dumbledore laugh whole-heartedly. "I was lucky enough to get ahold of two memories this time."

"How are you even getting the memories if we don't know where this Rosemary is?" Roy asked, his arm draped casually over the back of Ed's chair.

"Tom, it seems, has a collection of Rosemary's memories in her old room at the orphanage."

"That is a little creepy," Wrath replied.

"He probably wanted to keep her close," Ed replied. It was as if he was beginning to understand Tom better with each passing day. Even though it wasn't something he was proud of, he knew it was essential in predicting Tom's next move. "Even after she grew older and left the orphanage, Tom must have believed that her place would always be there."

Envy, who was standing in the corner of the room in his human form for a change, frowned. He knew this would eventually happen. He knew that his ochibi-chan would subconsciously link Voldemort with Roy as the group began to delve into the Dark Lord's past. He would just have to be sure he was there to make sure the alchemist would do anything to unknowingly cause himself harm.

"Unfortunately, the memories are not in a particular order. I grabbed what I could before leaving immediately. Tom has some protective wards around the place." Dumbledore produced one of the vials of misty liquid out of the sleeve of his robe. "I haven't had the chance to view these memories yet, so what they contain is a mystery to me."

He quickly tossed the memory against the wall, causing the colors to swirl before fading into an image. Ed bite his lip as the image came into view. It was Rosemary, all grown up and wearing a snow white wedding dress. Her golden blond curls were pinned up in a graceful bun, filled with white lilies. In her hands was a bouquet of snow white petunias, mixed with periwinkle peonies. She was sitting in a chair, facing a mirror; her long white dress falling in waves to the ground. Behind her, an older woman pinned the last of the lilies into place before resting her hands on the bride's shoulders.

"She looks familiar," Sirius commented from his place beside Harry.

"She looks a lot like her sister," Winry supplied quietly. Sirius only hummed in response, neither confirming nor denying her claim.

"There," the woman commented as she ran a loving hand over Rosemary's bare shoulder. "You look beautiful."

Rosemary's wedding dress was absolutely gorgeous. It was a sweetheart laced bodice with off-the-shoulder lace sleeves. The skirt of the dress was silk and chiffon, touching the ground gently while part of the skirt was pulled up and into the back of the dress.

Rosemary smiled up at the woman through the mirror. "Thank you, mum. I would still be trying to figure out what to do with my hair if you hadn't been here to help."

The woman that was clearly Rosemary's adopted mother laugh, a sound that was full of life and age. "You would have probably worn it down." The older woman frowned. "You have your something new and something blue," she commented as she gestured to the wedding dress and the periwinkle peonies in the bouquet. She smiled before turning to the bag she had brought with her. She quickly pulled out a pair of lovely lace gloves. "And here is your something borrowed. They were mine for my wedding."

Rosemary laughed as she sat the bouquet on the vanity and gently pulled the gloves on, marveling at the texture that the lace created. The gloves didn't cover her hands completely. Her palms and the top of her wrist but her fingers were completely uncovered. Which was a good thing considering she still had a ring to go on her finger, right about the golden topaz of her engagement ring.

"Now all we need is something old," Rosemary smiled wistfully.

"What have I told you about calling me old?"

Ed nearly fell out of his seat, he was laughing so hard. In the memory, Rosemary turned and smiled. "Tom! You made it!"

"Since when did he have a sense of humor?" Envy deadpanned from his corner.

Ed snorted and watched as the beautiful bride made her way over to the handsome young man leaning against the doorway. He was dressed in a black muggle tux with a matching black vest and a white tie. He laughed openly as he caught Rosemary, who had tripped over the edge of her dress.

"Be careful. We don't need the bride to go to the hospital even before she is married," Tom chuckle as he righted the younger girl. He couldn't really call her little anymore.

"I'll leave you two alone. The wedding march begins in thirty minutes," Rosemary's adopted mother smiled as she walked out the door.

The pair was quiet for a moment, each taking in the other's appearance and wellbeing. Tom smiled suddenly.

"You look amazing. Your sister would have been proud," he whispered as he pushed a stray blond curl behind her ear.

"I wish she could be here," Rosemary replied with a smile. She looked up and stared Tom in the eyes. "If I am to be honest, I thought I would attend _your_ wedding before walking down the aisle for myself."

Ed expected Tom's expression to close off. He was pretty sure everyone in the room expected the same thing. Instead, he was completely shocked when a look of deep pain became apparent on his face. He guided Rosemary over to the chair she had vacated not too long ago. He quietly pulled up a chair of his own.

"I had always imagined the same thing," he replied honestly with the only person he seemed to be able to do so with. He chuckled humorlessly. "Then again, I never imagined seeing you get married at the age of twenty either. Just don't start having children anytime soon. I might not be able to keep up with these old bones of mine."

Rosemary laughed out loud. "I don't think I will be having children for a while. Adam and I talked about it and we both agreed to wait before having children."

Tom smiled. "Good. At least he has some sense about him," he teased, something he had been doing ever since Rosemary met Adam when she was fifteen.

Rosemary smacked him on the shoulder in a playful manner. A comfortable silence befell the two.

"I wish I could see her again," Rosemary commented. "I wish _we_ could see her again."

Something about the way Tom smiled sent chills up Ed's spin. He quickly did the mental math. Rosemary had been nine when Tom had graduated from Hogwarts, when Tom had met Edward. Rosemary was now twenty. Eleven years had passed since Ed met Tom Marvolo Riddle. Nine had passed since Ed had escaped the hell-hole that had been Riddle Manor. It would seem that Tom had not told Rosemary about meeting Edward. Ed was sure that, if he had, Ed would have met the little girl instead of learning about her through memories, almost fifty year later.

"Someone once told me that every one of us has our own doubles living in a different world," Tom replied with a far off look in his eyes. Ed could practically fill the eyes landing on him for a moment. He didn't turn to meet a single one of them. He continued to stare at the memory, waiting to see what happened next.

Rosemary's eyes lit up like a child's at Christmas. "Really? So there is someone in another world that looks like Sister?"

Tom nodded, his eyes bright with knowledge and insight.

Rosemary smiled. "I would love to meet them, if I could."

A knock sounded from the door as Rosemary's adopted mother popped her head in. "You had better get ready. The ceremony will be starting soon."

Tom stood and offered his arm to the bride. She wordlessly took it, moving the vial in her hair in front of her face with her other hand. She grabbed the abandoned bouquet sitting on the vanity and looked up at Tom.

"You ready?" he questioned.

Rosemary nodded as the memory swirled and shifted, skipping the entire wedding ceremony. Ed blinked upon seeing Tom standing at the Head Table, right next to the newly married couple.

"I would like to thank everyone for coming today," he announce in a very Roy-Mustang-like tone. "As one of Rosemary's closest friends, nothing could make me happier than to see her find someone that will love and cherish her as well as her finding someone she can love and cherish." The crowd cheered for a few minutes before Tom politely raised a hand, bringing silence to the crowd.

"I can see why the two of you are doubles, sir," Riza commented as Roy gave a grumble in response.

"Before the wedding ceremony, I heard Rosie and Adeline speaking about the traditions of a wedding for a bride. She has her blue in the flowers of her bouquet, her new in her wedding dress, and her borrowed in the gloves she is wearing," Tom smiled as he locked eyes with the little girl he had watched grow up. "The only thing missing is something old."

Suddenly, the lights in the room cut out, causing some of the guests to shout in alarm. Ed frowned, his paranoia getting the best of him as he expected Death Munchers to appear out of nowhere to steal the bride away. Ed shook his head, dislodging the image of Death Eaters in Muggle Wedding Attire. The occupants of the crowd, and the people watching the memory, frowned when the sound of old video footage could be heard. The familiar black and white count down began on the wall to the left of the married couple's table. As soon as the numbers disappeared, a very familiar face appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Rosemary," thirteen-year-old Evelyn Richards greeted the camera.

Ed looked over to the bride and saw tears running down her face, smearing her carefully applied make up. Ed strongly believed that she didn't even notice.

"If you are watching this, that means that you are finally getting married," Evelyn cheered before sobering up rather quickly. "Since you _are_ watching this, which means that I wasn't able to overcome the cancer." She quickly smiled, tears in her eyes. "But let's not talk about that. I made this video so that you would have your sister on your wedding day, even if I cannot be there to see you in person. I want you to know that I will always love you and I will forever be proud of the choices you make. And you know what I always say," she grinned suddenly. "Life is an adventure. Never back down and keep fighting because I am sure I will not give up. I love you, Rosie." With her parting words, Evelyn brought her hand up to her mouth and kissed the tips of her fingers before she gently rested them on the lens of the camera.

The memory faded completely, leaving the people watching it to their own tears and thoughts. Dumbledore awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Should we continue?" he asked quietly.

"I think we might need a minute," Izumi replied in a strangled voice.

Ed nodded in agreement, his throat burning and his eyes becoming suddenly misty. Everyone in the room looked as if they were going to start crying. Even Envy, who was usually unaffected by human displays, looked a little down. Everyone quickly gathered themselves before motioning for Dumbledore to continue.

Dumbledore silently threw the next memory against the same wall the previous one had been playing on. The group watched as the now-familiar swirling of memories began before it faded to the lobby of Wool's Orphanage. Ed immediately picked Rosemary out. She was clearly younger than the previous memory but a couple of years older than the first memory the group had watched of her. She sat on a bench, holding a stuffed calico cat in her arms. Her expression was somber as she watched the rest of the children get picked by the parents that were attending the closing of the orphanage. She sighed heavily, burring her face into the orange, black, and white fur of the stuffed cat.

"Hey, Rosie."

Little Rosemary looked up and a smile spread across her face. "Tom!" she exclaimed as she vacated the bench and latched herself onto him. "I didn't think you would come!"

Tom simply laughed quietly as he ran a hand over Rosemary's head. "I promised I would come back, didn't I?"

Rosemary grinned. "I have everything packed! When do we leave?"

Tom's smile quickly slipped from his face. "I can't take you with me, Rose."

The little girl's face slowly crumbled. "Why not?" she questioned as her emerald green eyes bore into his own blue once. "I thought you said I could come live with you."

"And you will, eventually," he commented as he knelt down to stare her in the eyes. "I just graduated from school. I still need to find a place suitable for you to come and stay at." Tom paused for a moment to consider something. "I actually tracked down one of my birth father's old houses. They are all dead, however, and the place is not suitable for a nine-year-old to live in."

"So I'm going to another orphanage?" Rosie asked emotionlessly. Ed flinched, finding the voice very disturbing when being faced with the speaker; a child of no more than nine.

"No," Tom supplied. "I have found someone who is willing to adopt you until I can sort things out financially. But, before that, I have something to do first."

Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand, giving a quick glance around the room to make sure no one was watching. He waved it elegantly over Rosie's head, a shower of golden sand washing over her body as he whispered a short incantation in Latin. Rosie giggled, as if the sand was tickling her. The particles disappeared before being replaced by a golden aura around her body.

"There," Tom said, seemingly satisfied with his handy work.

"What was that?" Rosie whispered excitedly. "Am I suddenly going to get magic?"

Tom laughed quietly. "No. There isn't a spell that can give magic. If you have it, it should manifest itself pretty soon. If not, then you won't ever get it."

"Oh," Rosie replied, clearly disappointed. "So what did you do?"

Tom's smile thinned out suddenly. "It is something that will protect you and your future family from danger. Of course, it will only work if you believe that magic exists and that it isn't something to be afraid of."

"Why do I need protection?" she asked.

Tom wasn't frowning at all now. Ed knew something was immediately up. "Because I am about to do something very reckless and stupid. I want you to be protected if something were to happen to me."

Rosemary immediately caught onto his serious tone and dropped the subject completely. About that time, a beautiful blonde woman in her early twenties walked over to the pair. Tom looked over his shoulder and smiled at the woman.

"Rosie, this is Adeline St. Clair. She has agreed to become your adopted mother until I can find a place for us," Tom said smoothly.

Rosie smiled shyly at the woman as the image swirled before disappearing all together. Ed sighed quietly in relief, not wanting to see another heart wrenching memory. The last one had been enough.

"I think it is safe to assume that this memory occurred just after Tom graduated," Dumbledore commented quietly. He turned to look at Ed. "Where were you when this happened?"

Ed frowned, mentally searching his memories for a time when Tom randomly disappeared. "At Riddle Manor. Tom had just discovered the place the day before. He dropped me off and disappeared for a couple of days."

"Wait," Roy exclaimed, cutting Ed off. "You stayed with him?"

Ed flinched, forgetting he hadn't yet told Roy the whole detailed story yet. "Yes, for two years. Then I met Envy."

"Was that before or after her went bat-shit crazy?" Izumi asked.

Ed frowned again. "Actually, now that I think about it, he didn't really start acting strange until after he disappeared for those couple of days." Ed looked over at the wall where the memory had been playing. "Something must have happened after he left Rosemary with Adeline."

Roy was still standing up, staring at Ed, his eyes full of disbelief. "Why did you stay with him?"

Ed sighed heavily. "Because, at the time I arrived in this world, he was the only one I knew. Albus offered me a place here at Hogwarts but I declined. Tom was different when I met him. He wasn't like how he was in the first memory but he didn't seem to type to suddenly take a leap into the person he is today."

"What happened while you were with him?" Roy questioned.

"Nothing happened," Ed said shortly.

"I know that's a lie. He hurt you in some way and I am willing to bet that it was while you stayed with him," Roy countered. "How long were you with him?"

Ed sighed slowly through his nose. His eyes were a molten gold, brimming with a mix of emotions. "Two years," Ed answered through clenched teeth. "I was at his place for two years and I got out because of Envy."

Realization suddenly dawned on Roy's face. "You said you broke your leg," he said in a controlled voice. "Did he have anything to do with it?"

"Just drop it Roy," Ed shouted, slamming his hands on Albus's desk. "I made a mistake and I paid for it. You have no right to question my decisions."

The room was suddenly filled with an awkward silence. Ed stood there, his eyes narrowed and burning bright. Roy looked lost before he shifted back a little, allowing Ed some space. He wasn't the only one to pick up the desperate look on Ed's face. The silence stretched for a few moments before Ed walked over to the door.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be in my office," Ed said, clearly pissed before he slammed the door.

"Way to do, dumbass!" Envy mock applauded, annoyance clear on his face. "He has asked you multiple times not to pry and give him some space, and what do you do? You bring it up in front of EVERYONE! Keep this up and you are going to lose his trust completely."

Roy looked startled. "I am not going to lose his trust."

Envy rolled his eyes. "How dumb can you be? This right here," he said while gesturing to Roy, "is exactly why I keep saying humans are so stupid. You have already lost some of his trust. He trusted you not to bring the subject up until he was ready and this makes the third time that you have."

"Why do you keep pretending you know Niisan?" Al asked suddenly. "Niisan would never lose trust in someone for prying."

Envy's eyes suddenly turned cold. "Then you don't know your brother either." Envy quickly looked around the room. "Every single one of you continue to judge me for my actions in the past. I have given you the benefit of the doubt, knowing I was the one to cause a lot of trouble for each and every one of you." He took a moment to look everyone from the other side of the Gate in the eyes. "I have been patient, trying to show you that I have changed. But you have all forgotten something: I have lived with ochibi-chan for forty-eight long years. I have seen first-hand the horrors that son of a bitch put him through. I have seen the nightmares, the terrors, all of the goddamn aftermath that Voldemort caused Ed but every single one of you have seemed to have forgotten that. I'm done playing nice. If any of you upset him again, whether it be you," he pointed to Roy, "you," he pointed to Al, "or you," he pointed to Izumi, "I will kill you and not even care of the consequences."

"You wouldn't dare," Izumi challenged.

Envy laughed out loud, a loud and emotionless sound. "Again, you are forgetting exactly who I am. Let me remind you: I am not human. I don't care about any of you." He paused for a moment before he looked at Wrath. "You want to know why I stuck around? It is so that I can kill the son of a bitch that hurt _my_ ochibi-chan."

With those last words, Envy calmly walked out the door, letting it shut gently behind him. The room fell into another uncomfortable silence that no one felt like breaking.

**I think I rather like the idea of updating once a week. Now, it will not be the same time every week but I will try to update within seven to ten days. Now that I have graduated, I should have time to finish this story up. Please let me know what you think of Envy's little rant at the end of the chapter. As much as I love the brotherly relationship between Ed and Envy, I cannot stand stories that make Envy seem all soft and, almost, weak. He is still the crazy Homunculi that I have come to love. **

**To be honest, when I first started watching FMA, I hated Envy but he slowly grew on me. I hope I am doing him justice by trying to keep him in character. He isn't there to try and make friends with everyone nor is he there to suddenly change and become human. Envy is there to help Ed, who has grown on him. I mean, how can you spend nearly fifty years with a person and them not grow on you. While Ed is still Ed, he has changed some because of Voldemort/Tom and Envy has been there right from the beginning, trying to keep his ochibi-chan from falling apart.**

**As always, please read and review.**

**-KleopatraAlexandria **


	15. Chapter 15

**First off, I apologize, again, for the lateness of this chapter. I have an actual career now and it has kind of taken over my life. This chapter has a really big reveal so please let me know what you think of it so far. Shout out goes to everyone that has either followed, favorited, reviewed, or read this story. I cannot even begin to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I tried to make it a little longer to make up for the lateness. So, without further ado, enjoy!**

**Avoid and Evade: Chapter Fifteen**

Ed was fuming as he stormed down the steps leading up to the Headmaster's office. Roy was the last person that Ed would have thought to have brought up _that_ in front of everyone. He half-expected Winry to bring up the topic first. Not Roy. _Never_ Roy. Ed thought the Flame Alchemist trusted him more than that. Ed though _he _trusted Roy more than that.

The Fullmetal Alchemist was so lost in to his thoughts that he didn't even notice the person trying to get his attention until he ran right into him, knocking the both of them to the floor.

"Well, shit," Ed hissed as he rubbed his sore elbow.

"Are you alright, Professor?"

Ed looked up and stared into the freckled face of one Ron Weasley. Ever since the incident between the ginger and Envy—the one that Envy relayed to Ed the day after his rescue—Ron had been staying clear of the group. Ed was sure he was trying to avoid Envy at all cost but Ed didn't think that Ron would stop talking to his friends like he had been doing the past couple of months.

"I'm fine," Ed replied, realizing he had been staring off into space for a moment or two. "Did you need something, Ron?"

The ginger began to fidget, clearly nerves. "I was wondering if you could help me with something." Ed motioned for him to continue. "Every since the meeting I was in last time," Ron continued, flinching at the memory "I haven't been able to find it in myself to ask Harry or Hermione for help on school work. I was wondering if you could help me in Potions. Professor McGonagall is helping me in Transfigurations and Professor Flitwick is helping me in Charms but I am pretty sure Snape isn't going to help me."

"_Professor_ Snape," Ed corrected. "Why are you asking me?"

"Well, I was going to ask Mrs. Potter but she has been busy with the house they are buying," Ron explained, his ears going pink. "And I don't want to face Harry and Hermione just yet. I want to show them that I can take care of myself and bring my own grade up without their help."

Ed blinked in confusion. "But wouldn't they, as friends, want to help you?"

Ron gave a shrug and a nod at the same time. "I think they would but I don't want to bother them with this. I want to prove to them that I can do things for myself and show them that, as a friend, I am not simply using them to get through school."

Ed processed the information for a moment. Something about Ron's story didn't add up. But the missing piece that Ed needed to solve the puzzle wasn't available to Ed. He knew something wasn't right but, as a Professor, he was obligated to help a student if they asked for it. Ed believed he owed it to himself as a person to help anyone that asked. He sighed through his nose.

"Alright," Ed agreed. "I'll help you with potions."

Ed almost laughed when Ron's face light up like a Christmas tree.

"Thank you so much," Ron sighed in relief. His face turned thoughtful. "Could we keep this between the two of us for now? At least until I get my grade up?"

Ed blinked, a sense of foreboding returning. "Sure," he agreed. There was no reason for Ron to pick up on his suspicion. Hell, he could just be being paranoid for all he knew. "When did you want to meet?"

"Saturday afternoons?" Ron asked. "I have my other tutoring sessions throughout the week on Monday and Wednesday nights. I have Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for homework. I was hoping to meet up with Harry and Hermione on Sundays, you know, to try and reconnect. We can either meet in the Room of Requirements or in your office."

Ed scratched his chin in thought. "I have my own Potions lab attached to my office. I tend to use it for research purposes but, since you need help, I can give you some private tutoring there." Ed suddenly made a face. "I am going to warn you that someone will be with me at all times, especially since Voldemort's" Ron flinched, "last attempt at kidnapping me."

"Could it be anyone but Envy?" Ron asked, his face a little green.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "I take it Envy made quite the impression?"

Ron nodded.

Ed sighed. "I doubt anyone would be able to tell Envy otherwise. Hell, I couldn't even tell Envy to stay away."

Ron suddenly look forlorn. Envy must have made quite the impression. "He won't make fun of me, will he?"

Ed blinked in surprise. "I can't control what Envy does. I can ask him to keep his comments to himself but that only works so well. If you really want my help, Envy is a part of the packaged deal."

Ron looked panicked for a moment. "I'll learn to deal with him. I just really need help in Potions."

Ed nodded. "We will start this Saturday. Meet me in my office at 2:30 and we will start with the basics to see where you need help."

Ron grinned and thanked Ed a couple of times before practically skipping off. Ed sighed and jumped as he felt something climb up onto his shoulder. He looked over and met Envy's eyes with a raised eyebrow.

"I take it you said something after I left?" Ed questioned.

"What makes you think that?" Envy asked innocently.

Ed's eyebrow disappeared into his hairline. "Considering the fact that you didn't follow me after I left the room."

Envy gave a half shrug. "I just told them the truth." He sighed heavily at the glare he was getting from his ochibi-chan. "Fine. I told them not to meddle and that, if they keep pushing you, they will eventually lose you."

It was Ed's turn to sigh. "You're right. _Of course_, you're right."

"Just give them some time. They needed to hear the truth before they were going to realize what they were doing. Now, what was the little shit asking you about?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "He wants me to help him with Potions."

"And why didn't he ask Severus?" Envy questioned.

"You know how the students are. They are all afraid of Severus," Ed replied with a shrug and a matter-of-fact tone. Envy just cast a cautious look in the direction that the youngest Weasley male had left in.

LINEBREAK!

"Would you please stay still for a moment?" Roy complained as he quickly followed Ed though the long corridors of Hogwarts.

"And let you try and interrogate me again? No thanks," Ed replied heatedly.

It has been three weeks; three long weeks since Roy had a civil conversation with Ed. No matter how many times he tried to apologize, the blond alchemist continued to throw those apologize back into Roy's face. It worried and bugged the piss out of Roy at the same time. He hadn't even been able to see Ed on a regular bases and the thing that bugged Roy the most was that Ed continued to sneak off every Saturday, seemingly disappearing into thin air. Roy knew that Ed could take care of himself but he really didn't want to risk anything with Voldemort planning his next move.

"I'm trying to tell you that I am sorry," Roy finally shouted, not caring that the students were watching them.

His answer temporarily stunned the Fullmetal Alchemist, long enough for Roy to drag him into an empty classroom, where they would be able to hold a private conversation. Roy gently stirred Ed to where he was sitting, facing the Flame Alchemist.

"I didn't mean to break your trust like that," Roy said gently as he laced his fingers with Ed's. "I acted in the moment because I was upset."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "_You_ were upset?" he asked sarcastically.

Roy sighed heavily. "Yes. I didn't like the idea of you being close to that man for a long time."

Ed was quiet for a moment, contemplating what he was going to say next. "He wasn't always like that," Ed commented quietly. "When I first met him, he was so much like you that it almost hurt to be around him." Ed met Roy's gaze in time to see him flinch. "That's why I stayed with him, _because_ he reminded me so much of who I left behind. What happened in those couple of days to make him change so much, I don't know."

The pair was silent for a moment; neither of them wanting to break the some-what comfortable silence that had fallen around them.

Roy sighed heavily. "I'm sorry."

Ed looked over at Roy in surprise. "Did you just apologize?"

Roy gave him an annoyed look. "You are being very repetitive, Fullmetal," he countered. "Of course I just apologized. I was being an ass at the last meeting when I should have been respecting your wishes about not asking questions."

Ed grinned. "You are always an ass," he said cheekily, causing Roy to grumble in response.

"Ok, _smartass_," Roy commented as Ed dissolved into laughter. "Dumbledore wants to see us. We are already late enough as it is."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Ed asked as he began to make his way to the Headmaster's office.

The pair bickered back and forth as they made their way to Dumbledore's office. It was an improvement from the silence that had been heavy between them for the past couple of weeks. Al was grinning so wide when he saw the pair that it looked like his cheeks would fall off.

"Could you two shut up for about fifteen minutes? I would really like to get this meeting over with," Envy snapped after a few minutes of the dry banter.

Lily snorted from her seat, causing James to look over at his wife. She simply shook her head and shared a look with Severus from across the room. The pair had their own experience dealing with the hot-tempered fox that was Envy. Ed had the decency to blush while Roy simply glared, the past encounter between the two not forgotten in the least.

Dumbledore chuckled from his place behind his desk. "I am pleased to see the two of you on speaking terms," he lightly commented before continuing. "The reason I have called all of you here today is because I have managed to find another memory about Evelyn."

"I thought you couldn't get back into the orphanage," Winry commented as she crossed her arms.

Dumbledore smiled in reply. "This one didn't come from an orphanage. It is the memory of an old colleague of mine. I reached out to everyone I knew in regards to Tom's past. This colleague wishes to remain anonymous and I hope that everyone will respect their wishes."

Every head in the room bobbed in response. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled from behind his half-moon glasses. He wordlessly threw the milky-white memory against the wall, allowing all to see the events that would unfold.

The setting wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It was a 1940s London; the streets filled with people bustling about in faded colored clothing. Ed's eyes were immediately drawn to a young girl of about ten, wearing an old but well cared for dress of crimson red. It still took Ed's breath away every time he laid eyes on his doppelganger. The only difference between the two of them, besides the obvious gender issue, was the length of their hair. Where Ed didn't begin to grow his out until after he and Al tried to bring their mother back, Evelyn had clearly been taking care to make sure her hair was cut to a minimum. The bright golden locks tumbled in waves over her shoulders. Her bright gold eyes sparkled with laughter as she leaned over next to the person beside her.

"You're holding it wrong," she commented lightly as she adjusted the old violin on a young Tom Riddle's shoulder.

Tom was clearly getting frustrated. His face was a bright red as he tried to hold the violin in place. He huffed and nearly threw the violin before he seemed to remember something and gently handed it over to Evelyn.

"I think you are teaching me wrong. Are you sure you know what you are doing?" Tom commented, snark and sarcasm evident in his tone.

Evelyn stared at him for a moment, one eyebrow elegantly raised as her fist rest on her hips. She swiftly reached down and took the violin away from Tom. Protest was clearly written on his face as he opened his mouth to snap at the girl. Any thoughts of irritation disappeared as Evelyn placed the bow on the violin and began to play.

The occupants of the room could do nothing but stare as a beautifully composed piece of art began to play in the air. It was clear that even at a young age, Evelyn was just as much of a genius as her counterpart. Ed blinked suddenly, momentarily stunned as he recognized the song.

"He taught me this song," Ed said, a little louder than he meant to, seeing as it got everyone's attention.

Dumbledore paused the memory and looked over at the Fullmetal Alchemist for clarification. Ed grimaced, wishing he hadn't opened his big mouth. He sighed heavily before continuing.

"Before I left Hogwarts, Tom decided to teach me how to play the violin. Up until know I thought that he was just randomly teaching me things. He had already taught me about different subjects of magical theory." Ed paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "One day, during one of his free periods, he pulled me away from my research and said I needed to know how to play the violin. That was the exact same song he taught me how to play after I mastered the basics."

"How long did that take?" Izumi asked out of pure curiosity.

Ed frowned, scrunching up his face in thought. "About three days." He stopped when he heard the door close. He quickly looked around the room and spotted James frowning, eyeing the door with a worried expression. Lily was nowhere in sight.

"Dad?" Harry asked questioningly. "Where did Mum go?"

James's frown deepened. "I don't know. She just said she would be right back and walked out rather quickly." James looked over at Severus, who was currently lost in his own thoughts.

"I'm sure she is fine, James," Sirius commented but you could see the worry lines that snaked across his brow.

"Did Tom say anything about the song?" Dumbledore asked as he tried to draw the conversation back to the starting point.

"He said that he had been taught the song by an old friend," Ed replied. "He also said that the song was called _Winter's Lullaby_."

The group sat in silence for a moment as Ed looked around at each and every one of them.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" James said as he leaned his chair back onto its hind legs.

"You as well?" Severus questioned.

James looked up in surprise before his frown deepened. "Dumbledore, could you replay the song again?"

Dumbledore nodded and wordlessly played the song again, from start to finish.

"That tune definitely sounds familiar," Severus replied after the fifth run though of the song. During the duration of the repeating song, which lasted in total about thirty minutes, James continued to glance at the door, as if he could will his wife to suddenly appear.

Al turned to his older brother. "Maybe he remembers it from you playing it, Niisan," he suggested calmly.

Ed shook his head. "Not possible. I never played that song in front of him or Lily." Ed looked down suddenly. "It was something I would have rather forgotten about."

"Then where the hell have we heard it before?" Sirius asked in an overzealous manner.

"It's not something to do with purebloods," Draco said from his spot beside Hermione. "That much is obvious, seeing as how Evelyn was muggle."

"I've never heard it before," Ginny shrugged, wanting to include her own two cents.

"Aunt Petunia used to go around the house humming it," Harry chimed in.

James frowned, his eyebrows knitting together in frustration. "I wish Lily was here. She might know."

"Maybe it's a muggle song that played on the radio at one point," Luna suggested quietly.

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think it is. I've never heard it and my parents always have the radio on older channels."

Riza sighed slowly through her nose. "None of our group besides Ed has ever heard it before."

"This is so frustrating," Sirius whined.

Everyone jumped as the door to Dumbledore's office suddenly opened. Lily walked in and stopped, noticing that everyone was staring at her.

"Are you all that bored that you would sit and watch the door?" she asked humorously.

James sighed in relief and Ed could see Severus's shoulders relax just a little bit.

"Where did you go, Lily?" Remus asked.

"To the house," she replied as she dug three small cubes out of her pocket.

"What did you do that for? We have been sitting here for the past thirty minutes trying to place where we have heard that song before," Sirius complained.

Lily simply rolled her eyes as she sat the cubes on the ground and wordlessly enlarged them back to their normal sizes. Ed could now see that they were actually faded cardboard boxes with old ink writing that had almost disappeared before someone went over the writing with a marker. The words _Wedding_, _Memories_, and _Family_ was written elegantly across the different boxes.

"I probably should have told you where I was going and why. It would have saved you abusing the grey matter," Lily joked at Sirius, who gaped in response. James just snorted at his wife and best friend.

Lily opened that box labeled _Wedding_ and gently lifted a smaller wooden box from inside it. She walked around and sat in the empty seat next to Ed. The box was a beautiful mahogany wood with elegant leaves painted in gold paint and mother-of-pearl flowers decorating the top. The jewelry box was very well made and clearly cherished.

"What's that, Lils?" Sirius asked, still a little sore about her retort.

"It was a gift that my father made my mother for their wedding day. My father was a jewelry maker," she continued as she gestured to her earrings and James's watch. "He sometimes decided to branch out to clocks and music boxes when the mood took him. He stated making this box for my mother when they meet."

"Didn't they meet when they were fifteen?" James asked as he leaned back in his seat.

Lily nodded. "They ended up getting married seven years later."

Ed looked down at the jewelry box again. "And what does this have to do with anything?"

Lily simple smiled as she gently lifted the lid on the jewelry box. The occupants of the room snapped their attention to the box as a familiar tune began to play.

"Holy shit," Sirius cursed and looked over at the paused image of ten year old Evelyn Richards, frozen on the wall.

"It's called _Winter's Lullaby_," Lily said as she looked around the room.

Everyone blinked, looking at each other stunned. Lily had left the room before Ed had even announced the name of the tune.

"What the hell?" Roy asked and looked up to see Lily staring at him with a familiar curious look. Ever since she meet him, Lily was constantly staring at the Flame Alchemist. He had always brushed it off, attributing it to his likeness to his counterpart from this world; the man that had tried to kill Lily and her family. James had countered that quickly, saying that neither of them knew what the Dark Lord looked like since he had been wearing a cloak that night he had attacked. He stilled tried to brush it off, assuming it had something to do with being Ed's boyfriend. It wasn't something he could shake now, however.

"So, we've all heard the song from Lily," Remus mused quietly.

Lily turned her intense emerald stare away from Roy, who breathe a sigh of relief. "You and James know the song because it was played at my wedding," Lily explained.

"Harry knows it from your sister," Sirius commented before wincing, remembering how heartbroken Lily had been when she found out about her sister's death.

Severus cleared his throat awkwardly. "I always heard it from your mother," the Potion's Master commented as he looked at his childhood friend.

"So that's the source," Wrath commented lightly. He turned and looked at Lily. "Where did you mother hear it from?"

"Her sister," Lily replied.

"WHAT?!" Sirius commented as he suddenly jumped up from his chair. "How come we never meet this mysterious, unheard of Aunt of yours, Lily?" James looked equally as shocked.

"You couldn't have meet her. I never did," Lily replied as she dug deeper into the _Wedding_ box and pulled out a photo album. "My mother's sister dies of cancer when she was thirteen."

Ed felt a familiar cold trickle of ice run down his spine. Something about the story sounded familiar; almost a little too familiar.

"I bet you are wondering why I am always staring at you," Lily said randomly as she looked over at Roy.

Roy blinked in surprise at the abrupt acknowledgement. "The thought has crossed my mind, yes."

Lily flipped the album open as she continued to talk. "I apologize if it was being a little rude. Something about you just seemed very familiar and for the longest time, I couldn't figure out why." She paused for a moment to slip on of the photos out of its plastic sleeve. "I finally remembered when _Winter's Lullaby _began to play."

"Wouldn't he look familiar because of Voldemort attacking your family that Halloween night?" Draco asked carelessly.

Lily frowned. If he hadn't known her so well, Ed would have thought that she was frowning because of the memory of that night being brought up. But the frown on Lily's face wasn't that of haunting. It was of hurt, as if someone had insulted someone very close to Lily but the red-head didn't want to offend them by replying. Ed had seen the look numerous times while teaching Lily and Severus Alchemy. It was the same frown that Lily always wore whenever Petunia made fun of Severus because of his clothes or looks.

"My mother had a friend," Lily continued quietly as she shut the album and flipped the photo upside down so no one could see it. "He was constantly visiting when Petunia and I were younger. He would bring us presents every year for Christmas and our birthdays and sometimes just randomly, which made our mother go into a tizzy. She didn't want us to be spoiled." Lily paused for a moment as she looked off into thin air, absent mindedly twisting her wedding band on her finger. She quickly looked at her lap. "He stopped visiting before Petunia turned 7. I was just six at the time. I remembered being upset for the next couple of birthdays and Christmases because my godfather wasn't visiting. Mum would simple tell me that he was busy working on something."

Ed frowned. Something about the story was nagging him, that much was certain. But it wasn't even the nagging feeling that was bothering Ed. It was the fact that Lily seemed to be rambling. The other occupants of the room looked extremely confused, including James and Severus. Lily never rambled. When she seemed to be rambling, she was actually making some kind of point that had very heavy value and thought behind it. It was never just useless chatter. Lily looked over at Roy then her gaze shifted to Ed before she smiled a little.

Before Lily could precede any further, the door to Dumbledore's office was thrown open, narrowly missing Envy, who had been leaning up against the wall. Everyone jumped and even Dumbledore looked surprised. He quickly covered it up as he took in the out-of-breath form of Arthur Weasley. The Ministry worker looked as if he had just ran all the way from work.

"Hello, Arthur," Dumbledore greeted lightly. "What can we do for you?"

Arthur held up a hand while he tried to catch his breath. "I found out something on the young woman you asked me to investigate."

"You found something out about Rosemary Richards?" Remus asked.

Arthur nodded. "It took me a little longer than it should have. I guess the muggles were too impressed by my knowledge to really reply with a straight answer."

Everyone in the room cracked a little bit of a smile, all of them thinking about Arthur's 'impressive' muggle knowledge. Dumbledore motioned for the Weasley father to continue. Arthur opened the manila folder he had been carrying when he made his sprint up the spiral staircase.

"I checked different types of public and boarding schools first, hoping that would get me somewhere. Unfortunately, it didn't. So I decided to check the hospitals, just incase Ms. Richards suddenly came down with an illness or the same cancer as her sister. I finally got a break through on my fifth hospital, which was in Coketown." Arthur shuffled through the papers quickly. "I had to dig a little deeper than I thought I would. Her last name changed a few times, first by adoption, then by marriage."

"We know her last name changed to St. Claire," Ginny said. "We kind of gathered that from the memories."

Hermione swatted Ginny's arm. "Be nice. That's your dad."

Ginny just shrugged before sending her father a look that clearly said 'I love you'. Arthur shook his head at his youngest child's antics.

"As I was saying," Arthur continued. "Rosemary Richards became Rosemary St. Claire after she was officially adopted by Adeline St. Claire when she was twelve. A few years later, she meet the man that she would marry seven years later. The hospital records that I found are from January of 1960, when her second child was born. The nurse at the hospital couldn't give me that child's name."

"So Ms. Rosemary had two children? Or were there more?" Al asked politely.

Arthur looked back at his notes. He shook his head and opened his mouth to continue but was quickly cut off.

"She only had two children: two girls," Ed stated quietly.

Ed could almost hear the metaphorical record scratching as everyone suddenly turned their attention to him. He wasn't really paying attention to the looks the group was giving him. His thought were going a hundred miles per hour. All the pieces he needed had been right in front of him the entire time they were trying to figure out who Rosemary was. He just hadn't looked hard enough or deep enough.

"Don't tell me you've known that this whole time and haven't told us," Wrath snapped and started towards Ed but stopped short when he saw the look on Envy's face.

Ed shook his head. "I haven't. I've just now put the pieces together." Ed sat back in thought for a moment before his golden stare caught Lily's emerald one. They both knew exactly what was about to unfold. He reached over and gently took the picture Lily was holding. He flipped the picture over and sighed heavily as it confirmed what he had thought to be true. He put the picture down before Roy could see what the picture was.

Ed stood up and wordlessly conjured a chalk board from his classroom. Luckily, he managed to summon the one that didn't have any of his research notes on it.

"Let's start from the top," Ed began as he wrote Rosemary's name up on the board in white chalk. "What do we know about her?" he asked as he circled the name.

"She and her sister were orphaned after their mother passed away," Harry offered. "Their father didn't want them, so they were sent to Wool's Orphanage."

Ed made a quick note on the chalk board before turning back around to look at the group.

"Her sister became friends with Tom Riddle sometime after that," Draco supplied quickly. "Don't know an actual time frame but they must have been close for him to keep so many memories of her and to make sure Rosemary was taken care of."

"Evelyn died when she was thirteen years old, leaving Rosemary behind. Wool's Orphanage closed when Rosemary was nine. Tom temporarily left Rosemary in Adeline's care, only for Adeline to officially adopt her three years later," Hermione recited.

"Three years after that," James said as Ed continued to write notes on the board, "Rosemary meet that man she would eventually marry when she turned twenty-two. . ."

Everyone blinked as James trailed off. Ed had even stopped his not taking and turned to watch him. James looked thoughtful for a moment before he turned to look at his wife.

"Holy shit," James cursed quickly.

"And the prize goes to James Potter for figuring it our first," Ed said dryly before looking at everyone else. "Does anyone else get it?"

He sighed again when everyone shook their heads. His own head thudded on the chalk board before he jumped when he heard his brother cry out. He quickly turned and saw Al staring at the board, awestruck.

"How did I miss that?" Al complained as he quickly got up and ran to stand next to his brother. "Everything we needed was in plain sight this whole time!"

"What are you too Alchemy nerds babbling about this time?" Winry asked, clearly frustrated.

"That's what I would like to know," Roy said as he leaned back in his chair.

"What else do we know?" Ed asked, prompting everyone to look back at the board.

"The only thing left is that Rosemary had two children," Ginny supplied. "Past that, we don't really know."

"Yes, we do," James countered. He looked over at Severus. "I'm surprised you haven't gotten it yet."

Severus frowned. "Why on earth would I get something that has nothing to do with me?"

James rolled his eyes good naturedly. "You're involved. You just don't realize it."

"Would you care to enlighten us?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle and a smile.

"How about we just show you?" Ed suggested as he waved his wand over the picture he had taken from Lily. He flicked his wrist twice and sent a projection of the picture to the wall opposite of the memory Dumbledore had been playing.

"That's Rosemary's wedding party," Sirius said in a very smartass tone.

"That's my mother's wedding party," Lily deadpanned.

The room suddenly went so quiet that it was almost deafening. Everyone in the room took in the appearance of Rosemary in her wedding dress, standing between her new husband and her oldest friend.

"That's why you keep staring at Roy," Riza said as she looked at Lily. "You recognized him from when you were younger."

"But why the hell did he try to kill you if he knew you were Rosemary's daughter?" Sirius hollered.

"I don't think he knew."

All eyes turned and looked at Harry, who was sitting in his chair beside his father. He was staring at the wedding photo still, trying to take it all in. He sighed and looked over to meet Ed's eyes; eyes Ed know knew he inherited from his grandmother. His gaze continued over until he was staring into identical green eyes that belonged to his mother.

"You said he stopped visiting when you were five, right?" Harry asked quietly.

Lily nodded. "I never saw him again after that. Mum keep in touch with him for a few years but by the time I discovered I had magic, he was nowhere to be found."

"He wouldn't have been able to recognize her then," Envy concluded. "By the time he had even heard of Lily again, her last name was Potter because of her own marriage."

The room fell silent as everyone absorbed the information that had been given to them. Ed rubbed his burning, tired eyes as he laid his head back on the board. He mentally calculated for a moment. Lily hadn't seen Tom since she was five. Ed had meet both Lily and Severus when they were seven. If Tom had stayed around for two more years, Ed would have surely ran into him in Coketown at one point or another. Ed had lived just around the corner from the Evans family and visited rather often for dinner or tea. Ed suddenly stood up.

"That's why your mother was so surprised to see me the first time you brought me over," he nearly screamed as he pointed at Lily. "She knew about the whole doppelganger theory. I thought she was going to faint the first time I meet her."

"She recognized you because you look identical to her sister," Dumbledore mused as he stroked his beard. "At least now all of our questions seem to be answered."

"But we never figure out how Harry survived that night," Draco countered respectfully.

Dumbledore smiled. "Oh, but I believe we have."

Draco looked confused for a moment before Hermione sat up in her chair. "The spell!"

Dumbledore nodded. "I did some research and came across the exact same spell in one of Salazar Slytherin's old tomes. It is a very complicated spell that works though blood magic." Dumbledore paused to look over at Harry. "I am sure that it never occurred to him that the very spell he used to protect Rosemary would prevent him from killing Harry."

"What do you actually believe happened that night?" Sirius asked as he laced his fingers across his stomach.

Dumbledore paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "Before Wool's Orphanage closed down, we all saw Tom cast a spell on Rosemary to protect her. If everyone can recall, I believe he said that it would protect her **and** her family, including future generations. That spell cared over when Rosemary had both Petunia and Lily and then carried to Harry when he was born."

"Then why did it fail with my sister?" Lily asked. "If that spell was supposed to protect us, why did Petunia die?"

"Mr. Riddle said, in the memory, that the person has to believe in magic and not fear it for it to work," Al explained quietly. "Did your sister accept magic?"

Lily sadly shook her head. "She always hated it. She was extremely jealous that I could do it but she couldn't."

"The spell didn't protect Petunia because of her hatred for magic. I'm sure that, if she had accepted magic, she would be sitting here with us right now," Dumbledore said in a comforting tone. "It was that same magic that protected Harry that Halloween night."

"It protected Lily, too," Remus supplied.

"I am afraid not," Dumbledore countered. "If the spell had protected Lily, then Tom wouldn't even have been able to go after Harry. What protected Lily was the Philosopher's Stone that Ed gave her years before. The stone reacted before the spell could. When Tom attacked him, Harry didn't have the protection of the Stone. Thus, allowing the spell to activate, making Tom disappear into almost nothing."

"The spell shattered his soul," Envy supplied quietly. "His soul was already broken by that time."

"Isn't that what the spell is supposed to do?" Sirius questioned.

Draco shook his head. "I remember learning about that spell when I was younger. It's designed to knock a person back by pushing on their soul. If the soul was already broken, then it pushes through the cracks."

Everyone went quiet as they all began to process the information. It was a lot to take in. Even Ed was getting a headache from the overload of information.

"We have another subject to discuss," Severus said calmly. "Do we or do we not inform the Dark Lord?"

"Shit," Ed curse a little loudly, causing Roy to cuff him upside the head.

"If we let Snape tell him, it would keep him from going after Harry," Sirius chimed from his chair.

"Or," Envy cut in, "it will put an even bigger target on his back and put one on Lily's as well. You all saw how obsessed he is with ochibi-chan because he looks like Riddle's dead girlfriend. Image how he would react if he found out that Evelyn and Rosemary still have relatives running around."

Ed grimaced. He knew firsthand the brunt of Tom Riddle's obsession. He didn't know what he would do if Harry or Lily were suddenly at the center of a similar obsession. "Then we don't tell him."

"What if he finds out?" Luna asked. "What will Professor Snape do if Tom finds out that he knew and didn't inform him?"

"We erase this whole conversation from his memory," James suggested. "It's either that or lock it away for the time being."

"That would probably be best," Dumbledore concluded as he laced his fingers and rested his chin atop them. "I would rather not endanger Severus's life over this matter."

"What do we do if he finds out?" Harry asked as he looked at his parents.

"Then we form our own little group and leave the protecting to everyone else," Ed said smartly as he stood and stretched. "If we are done here, I really have to get back to my office." He pulled out his wand and sent his chalk board back to his classroom.

Lily and James shared a look before they rolled their eyes. The tense atmosphere seemed to dispel for the time being but Ed couldn't shake the feeling that things were only going to go downhill from here.


	16. Chapter 16

**I know this isn't a normal thing but I managed to type out another chapter because the characters wouldn't keep quiet. It is smaller than the last one. I have gone back an edited some of the mistakes in the previous chapter, namely the mistake of cloak being clock. Sorry for that. Thank you Guest for pointing it out. Shout out to everyone who reviewed, followed, read, and/or favorited this story.**

**Avoid and Evade: Chapter Sixteen**

Ed was just a little frustrated. It had been about two weeks since the big reveal as to who Rosemary Richards really was. Since then, Ed had been swamped with research and paperwork from his only four students. The private lessons with one Ron Weasley were going just a he thought they would: horribly. Honestly! How was it even possible that someone could be that bad at Potions? Ed would have tossed in the towel after the first lesson if he wasn't suspicious of Ron's behavior.

The little runt hadn't pulled anything thus far, so Ed didn't feel the need to tell Roy just yet where he continued to disappear to every Saturday morning. Ron seemed to be doing just as he had said. He was getting private lessons from the other professors on Monday and Wednesday (Ed had made it a point to talk with McGonagall and Flitwick just to make sure the youngest of the Weasley boys was actually attending lessons) and on Sunday, he would spend the day with Harry and Hermione and would even seem to tolerate Draco for a few hours if Harry and Hermione were working on Alchemy related assignments.

Still, Ed couldn't shake the feeling of dread that continued to slowly feel his stomach whenever he was around Ron. From what Envy had told him, when Ed wasn't looking, Ron would watch him constantly, as if trying to remember everything that Ed did. It was really unnerving.

It was on one of those days—a Monday in this case—that Ed found himself walking through the Great Hall, headed directly for the Gryffindor table, where the Golden Trio (Ed laughed when he first learned of the name) sat. Ed could tell they were in deep conversation from the way their heads were bunched together. Envy let out a panther growl that only Ed could hear. It nearly had the Alchemist laughing, considering the fact that Envy was currently in his fox-form.

"Why haven't you told me this before now?" Ron asked in a hurt tone.

Harry gave his friend an apologetic smile. "So much has been going on, the three of us haven't had the chance to just really talk."

Ron looked a little put out at first, but quickly shrugged the whole thing off. "It's ok. I understand being busy."

Harry and Hermione smiled, looking relieved. Ed decided to take that moment to walk up to the group.

"Mr. Weasley," he said, gaining the red-heads attention. He quickly produced a roll of parchment and held it out to the teen. "I found your Potions essay in the library. Please do try to remember where you leave your school work." Ok, that was actually a lie but Ed was pretty sure his friends didn't know about the private Potion lessons just yet. He didn't want them to find out and Ron stop the lessons before Ed figured out what the youngest male Weasley was up to.

Ron's face turned red, adding to the little lie Ed had created. "Thank you, sir. It won't happen again."

Ed just nodded. He gave Harry and Hermione a wave before turning to leave the Great Hall.

"I wonder what were they discussing when we approached," Envy commented in Ed's ear.

Ed frowned. "I don't know," And that really worried him.

LINEBREAK!

Dumbledore had called another meeting. It was late Wednesday night when everyone was finally able to meet up in Dumbledore's office. All of the same people from the previous meeting were in attendance, including the addition of Ron Weasley. Dumbledore had asked Severus to stay in his office, not wanting to have to lock his memory away again. Ed was extremely uneasy about the red-head attending but was able to hide the fact from everyone but Envy, who seemed to share his views.

"Now that we have all gathered, and I trust Mr. Weasley has been brought up to speed," Dumbledore said as he inclined his head towards Ron, "there is much we have to discuss."

"Of course there is," Envy said as he leaned forward onto the back of Ed's chair. Roy, who was sitting next to Ed, shot Envy a glare but was able to refine from saying anything to the Homunculus. "And before we even begin, I have a question."

Dumbledore sat up straighter in his chair. "Of course."

"How did Voldemort's soul get so broken?" Envy deadpanned. "In all of the years I have been existing, I have never come across a being with such a shattered, fragmented soul. And I lived with Dante for a while. Even her soul, as rotten as it was, wasn't as broken as his."

All of the occupants of the room fell silent as they waited for Dumbledore to answer. In a matter of seconds, Dumbledore seemed to age seventy years. He sighed heavily after a few minutes.

"Has anyone ever heard of a Horcrux?" he asked softly.

Ed frowned. The name sounded very familiar. It took him a few minutes but, like a park, the little flame went off in his mind and Ed sat back in horror.

"He actually managed to do it?" Ed whispered.

"What is a Horcrux?" Harry asked, looking confused.

"Shit," Ed hissed as he rubbed his aching temples. "A Horcrux is basically a container for a portion of a person's soul. A witch or wizard can create a Horcrux in hopes of obtaining immortality but it comes at a heavy price. Making a Horcrux literally shatters a person's soul and divides it up between different objects. It can cause both mental and physical disabilities and disfigurement. Having a Horcrux allows a witch or wizard to remain alive, even after their bodies have already been destroyed."

"So, that's how Voldemort survived that Halloween night when his own protection spell deflected his killing curse," Riza commented as she cleaned her gun. Ed smirked. Somethings never change.

"So the only way to defeat Voldemort is to destroy his Horcruxes?" Wrath asked from his corner of the room.

Ed jumped and looked at Harry when the teen gave a sudden hiss of pain. His hand moved to the scar on his forehead for just a second before he relaxed.

"Harry?" Ed asked.

Harry just gave him a smile. "I'm ok."

The comment only worried Ed even further. Even though he said he was fine, Ed could tell that Harry was still in some sort of pain. His eyebrows were scrunched up and his shoulders were really tense. The sad thing was that Harry hide it so well that, if Ed had been anyone else, he would have missed it. That worry increased when he looked over at Dumbledore and saw the older man looking very grave.

"How do we find and destroy these Horcruxes?" Sirius asked as he crossed his arms.

"I wish it were that simple," Dumbledore replied as he laced his fingers together.

"Has Voldemort hidden them well?" Roy asked.

"It isn't the hiding of the Horcruxes that I am worried about," Dumbledore sighed. "I have already managed to find and destroy five of the seven. Four, actually, considering that Tom's diary was destroyed by Harry. I already know the location of the other two." Ed saw another pained look cross Harry's face as his fist tightened on his pants leg. Ron muttered something under his breath and reached over to pat his friend on the back.

"Then what is the problem?" Sirius asked hot-headedly. "If you know where the other two are, why don't you get rid of them already?"

Dumbledore was very quiet for the longest time. Ed really didn't like the way this conversation was going. He sighed slowly though his nose, as if uncertain of how to precede.

"Tom has always had a thing with numbers," Dumbledore began. "Especially the number seven. So to him, the best way to split his soul was into seven pieces: six Horcruxes and one piece still left in his own body. Tom took treasures of the Founders of Hogwarts to use as his Horcruxes: Helega's cup, Salazar's locket, Rowena's diadem as well as items that had meaning to him such as his diary, his mother's ring, and his snake Nagini."

"But you said there were seven Horcruxes," Hermione countered quickly but respectfully. "Does that included the one still inside of him?"

"No," Ed answered as he leaned back in his chair. He hadn't realized just how wound up he had been until he stretched the muscles in his back. "A Horcrux is the container for the soul, not the soul itself."

Dumbledore nodded. "Tom's goal was seven pieces of his soul. However," he paused, "he accidently created a seventh Horcrux."

"How are Horcrux's made?" Envy asked as he mindlessly swatted at the bit of Ed's hair that was always sticking in the air. Ed smacked his hand away, causing Envy to pout; something he would deny doing later.

"Through the intent of murder," Dumbledore replied.

"So a murder doesn't actually have to take place?" Luna asked suddenly.

"I am not completely sure, to be quite honest," Dumbledore replied as he stroked his beard. "But recent events have made me begin to wonder about the magic behind the creation of Horcruxes."

"What recent events?" Al chimed from his spot next to his brother. Ed quickly stole a glance at Harry, who seemed to be doing better than a few minutes prior. Ed made a mental note to check on him later.

"James," Dumbledore said, ignoring Al's question. "Is anyone of the Potter line somehow linked back to Salazar Slytherin?"

James blinked, momentarily floored by the question. "Not at all," he replied after a moment. "Back at my parent's home, we had a tapestry much like the one the Black families has. But it dates all the way back to Godric Gryffindor. I checked it multiple times back in school for a research project about magical heritages. How is this even relevant?"

"Then how is Harry a Parselmouth?" Hermione questioned.

James and Lily both suddenly looked over at Hermione before turning their attention to their son. Harry looked just as confused as his parents, maybe even more so.

"What is a Parselmouth?" Roy asked.

"A person with the ability to speak to snakes," Ron supplied after having been mostly quiet the whole meeting. "It is said to be a trait passed down from Slytherin to his descendants."

"But how does Harry have it?" Lily asked as she began to attempt to flatten Harry's hair out of worry.

"Unless. . ." Izumi whispered, trailing of softly. She looked Dumbledore dead in the eyes. "It is possibly to create a living Horcrux?"

Ed felt as if the floor had fallen out from underneath him. He really hoped she wasn't implying what he thought she was. Unfortunately, the look on Dumbledore's face just confirmed his thoughts.

"Why does this conversation continuous run in different directions?" Sirius complained while the other people in the room sat looking confused. The only ones who understood the gravity of the situation was Ed, Izumi, Dumbledore, and Harry himself. The teen looked extremely pale and Ed was really worried about him passing out.

"The conversation isn't going in different directions," Ed answered in a deadly serious tone. "Think about it. The night Voldemort attacked the Potters, he had already split his soul enough to where it would remain if his body ever died, in a manner of speaking. When Tom tried to kill Harry, he unknowingly activated the very same protection spell he had placed on Harry's grandmother. The protection spell is designed to push on the soul rather than the body because a person's soul is where their magic is located. Since Tom had already split his soul into seven different pieces, the protection spell pushed between the cracks, shattering what was left. What was left of Tom's soul began to search for something to latch onto. Lily and James, who were both more than likely unconscious, were being protected by the Philosopher's Stone that Lily had taken from the necklace I gave her years ago." Ed paused letting the information sink in and knew he was getting somewhere when both Lily and James went very pale. "The only other thing in the house that the remnants of Tom's soul could have attached to was Harry."

The room descended into another deafening silence. Lily looked as if she was about to faint. James was slowly turning red in the face. Sirius looked like he had seen his mother's ghosted. Hermione looked horrified while Draco, who had been quiet the whole meeting, looked stunned. Ron Weasley, one the other hand, looked as if he was going to be sick.

"Harry is the first known instance of a living Horcrux," Dumbledore continued from where Ed had left off. "It is why he has the ability to speak Parseltongue. It is also the reason why Harry feels pain when Voldemort is around or when he is feeling some form of extreme emotion."

"Who long have you known?" James asked in a strangled voice.

Dumbledore fell quiet for a moment. "I have had a suspicion for a while now. It wasn't actually confirmed until Tom came back at the end of last year."

"What are we going to do?" Lily asked as she wrapped her arms around her son.

"Is there any way to remove it? So we can destroy it?" Sirius asked, not noticing the way Lily flinched. Even since she had found out just who Tom Riddle really was, Lily had refused to take part in any type of planning to take down Voldemort.

Ed saw Harry flinch for a different reason. His face scrunched up in pain again before it disappeared and was replaced with a look of confusion. All evidence of pain was completely gone from his face. Ron kept shooting Harry looks that Ed couldn't decipher.

Dumbledore sighed. "Not that I have found. And I am not risking Harry's life to try and find a way to get rid of the Horcrux. Until we have found a definite answer. Until then, all we can do is sit and wait. In the meantime, we have to make sure that Tom does not find out about this bit of information. I am going to ask everyone to take an oath to not repeat anything that has taken place in this room to anyone not involved in this."

Ed sighed heavily as he reached up and rubbed his throbbing forehead. He had absolutely no idea what to do in this situation.

BREAKINGTHELINE!

Harry was sitting on his bed in Gryffindor tower, doing absolutely nothing. It was Saturday morning. He, Draco, Hermione, and Luna had finished their weekly Alchemy projects two days prior. Ron had mysteriously disappeared again, like he did every Saturday. Harry contemplated going to find Hermione but stopped short when he remembered that she was working on homework for another class. He really didn't feel like being dragged into a study session. He didn't really know where Draco had gotten off to and he completely lost hope of trying to find Luna. If the Ravenclaw wanted to be found, you would see her. If not. . . good luck.

He reached up briefly and touched his scar. Ever since the meeting on Wednesday, when his scar flared up momentarily, Harry hadn't felt anything from the lightning bolt shaped scar. It wasn't that he was in constant pain. Until the sensation was gone, Harry hadn't realized that his scar was always giving him a tingling feeling. He had grown up with the sensation without even realizing it had been there.

Harry sighed as he rolled over onto his stomach, his boredom starting to get the best of him as he began to run different Alchemic formulas through his head. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the owl until it tapped on his window, breaking Harry out of his thoughts mid-equation.

Harry looked up and smiled when he saw Hedwig sitting on the window seal. Ever since his parents had moved into the little cottage in Hogsmeade, Hedwig never once set foot in the Owlery again. He got up from his bed and, after opening the window, gave his owl a well-deserved pet on the head. Hedwig hooted happily.

"Hey, girl," Harry said as he let Hedwig climb onto his arm.

He walked slowly to the perch that was sitting on his nightstand. After depositing Hedwig onto it, he turned back to the window to close it but came up short. Sitting in the window was a raven as black as a starless night. Its beady little yellow eyes stared at Harry before it gave a small cry. Hedwig hooted and ruffled her feathers in defense. The raven hopped forward a little and it was only then that Harry noticed the letter attacked to it.

Rather than grabbing letter, Harry pulled out his wand, gave a simple flick to untie the letter, and levitated it away from the raven. As soon as its burden was gone, the raven turned and fled out the window. Harry quickly shut the window, all the while still levitating the letter in the air. With another flick of his wand, Harry spun the letter around and his frown deepened as he saw his name written in elegant cursive writing.

"Who do you think it's from, Hedwig?" Harry asked softly.

Hedwig hooted in response.

"It can't be a portkey," Harry continued to talk to his owl. "Professor Dumbledore places a portkey lockdown around the castle after Ed was kidnapped last time."

Hedwig gave another hoot.

Harry hummed to himself for a moment, debating whether or not he should open the letter or take it to a professor. It could just be a random letter from a random fan or it could be a hate letter from some loon that thought he was crazy. Hedwig gave another soft hoot. Harry sigh and reached for the letter, intending to go directly to either Ed or Professor Dumbledore. As soon as he touched the letter, however, he suddenly remembered something.

"That's right," Harry said suddenly. "Mum and Dad wanted me to visit this morning. How in the world could I forget that?" He hurriedly grabbed his coat, scarf, and gloves, considering it was still in the dead of winter. In his hast, Harry dropped the letter and quickly left the dorm room. If he had looked back, he would have noticed that his name of the letter disappeared before the letter completely disintegrated. If Harry would have looked in the mirror on his way out of the common room, he would have noticed the way his eyes flashed from emerald to crimson for just a second before they settled back to normal.


End file.
